The Wolf Ninja - Book 1
by Vigilante24
Summary: They say that each object and hardship fate throws at you, it is only to make you stronger and prepare you for your destiny. For Tsuki Okami, destiny and fate were only jokes. However, those jokes are becoming reality as her destiny is slowly unfolded in front of her and it is bigger than she had ever imagine.
1. Prologue

Thousands of years ago, the humans were fighting with each other and were destroying each other's lives.

Losing all faith in humanity but still longing for peace, a young woman names Kaguya Otsutsuki believed that it was necessary for her to attain god-like powers in order to put an end to all of humanity's conflicts.

For that reason, she defied the taboo of consuming the fruit of the God Tree and by using her newfound power; Kaguya single-handedly ended the wars.

For her deed of stopping the conflict, she was worshiped as the Rabbit Goddess.

Years later, she gave birth to twin sons, Hagoromo and Hamura. As time passed, however, Kaguya began to lose trust in humanity as the power she now held ultimately corrupted her, which changed her public image from that of a benevolent goddess into that of a Demon.

This eventually led her to madness, committing acts such as turning victims of the Infinite Tsukuyomi into an army of White Zetsu. All that in preparation for the Ōtsutsuki descendants, who would come to Earth to steal her chakra for themselves.

In a fit of envy that her own sons had inherited her chakra, an enraged Kaguya combined with the God Tree itself and fought them in the form of the monstrous Ten-Tails in an attempt to reclaim the chakra she had given them.

Hagoromo and Hamura fought it in a battle that lasts for months, decimating the land in the process, until they were able to defeat it.

Hagoromo sealed his mother's power inside of him, eventually becoming the first jinchūriki. Researching his mother's technique, Hagoromo was able to free the world from her Infinite Tsukuyomi.

While Hamura decided to stay on the moon to keep watch of their mother, Hagoromo chose to travel the earth to find proper dwellings for the tailed beasts and repent for the damage he caused the world from his fight against Kaguya.

With his knowledge of the concept of chakra as well as not wanting his vast power to be focused onto himself and eventually corrupt him, as it did with his mother, Hagoromo travelled across the land, giving chakra to everyone in the world.

As well as spreading his ideals and religion, ninshū, which eventually became the ability known as ninjutsu.

Eventually, he returned to his home village to act as the centre for the teachings of ninshū.

He also fell in love and married a woman with who had three children, Indra, Tsukiko and Asura. During the third pregnancy, there were complications as Hagoromo's wife passed not long after giving birth to her third child.

Hagoromo's ultimate wish was to establish peace across the world, but it was a goal that would never be achieved in a single lifetime. Knowing this, he continued to refine and expand on the ways of Ninshū, teaching many, including his children who he chose to entrust his dream and legacy to his two sons and his only daughter.

The older son, Indra, was acknowledged by Hagoromo as a true prodigy, quickly began to revel in his natural prowess and became very solitary.

The younger son, Asura, proved to be the exact opposite, having shown no special abilities or natural talent, but he pushed on through his limitations, growing stronger and more mature because of his struggles and making friends with others along the way.

The middle child, Tsukiko, (who was a spit image of her grandmother) was slightly better than Asura but weaker than Indra when it came to natural talent. She was also born with no special abilities but she was a quick learner and unlike her two brothers, she found a special connection with nature and every living animal.

Finally deciding the time had come to choose a successor to Ninshū, Hagoromo sent each of his children on a different mission of restoration for a struggling land that was ravaged by the battle against Kaguya to test their capacities.

A year went by since the missions were given, Indra quickly returning after completing his; Tsukiko returned not too long after while Asura took much longer.

Deciding to wait for his younger son's return before making his decision, he was told the nature of how Indra and Tsukiko completed his mission by Gamamaru.

Eventually, Asura completed his mission, but also returned with many people from the village, who were inspired by Asura and even learned Ninshū from him, having helped him complete his mission.

Inspired by his younger son, Hagoromo separated the Ten-Tails' chakra from within his body and used his Creation of All Things Technique to divide it into nine separated bodies, creating the tailed beasts and giving each one a name.

Because he extracted them all at once, Hagoromo was left weakened and incapacitated for several months, though the powerful life force of the Ten-Tails' husk and the leftover of the Ten Tails/Kaguya chakra kept him alive.

While the two sons continued their training, Tsukiko stayed back to take care of him and the young tailed beats, creating a special bond with each one of them.

Seeing that, Hagoromo came to the conclusion that his daughter was the perfect vessel and holder. Therefore, he taught Tsukiko a special sealing before using it to seal the remaining chakra and part of Kaguya that had been left inside of him.

After that, he sealed the husk of the Ten-Tails within the moon.

On his deathbed, he chose Asura to be his successor but Indra, overcome by bitterness and envy as well as being encouraged and manipulated by Black Zetsu, fought against his brother, beginning a war between them.

The war dragged even Tsukiko in it, who tried her best to stay neutral and bring peace once again.

Although her attempts were in vain she never stopped trying and neither her descendants, who would follow her footsteps in stopping the war that continued throughout time through the two son's descendants.

However, our story takes place years and years later.

A young 4-year-old girl was running through the dark forest. Cuts and bruises were on her uncover skin while her small white dress was already torn and stained with blood and mud. Her small white wolf ear and tail also covered in dirt.

Her ears twitched and focused behind the young girl as the shouts of men reached her. They were coming closer and that caused the young girl to run as fast as her bare small legs could.

However, she tripped over a root and face planted the grass. Her knees started to bleed from the sudden contact with the ground and that caused the young girl to hug them while treats started to fall from her eyes.

Soon enough, she was surrounded by Rogue shinobi who had a sickening smile on their faces as they were watching the injured girl to try her best to stand only to quickly fall.

Finally, after accepting her fate, the young girl hugged her knees, closed her eyes and waited for any fate was waiting her.

However, before any of the men could make a move, a pack of wolves appeared from nowhere. They killed almost all of them while the remaining ones ran for their lives despite their deep wounds.

When the whole battle ended, the young wolf girl raised her head only to meet with around 8 wolves.

Before she could ran away from them, a beautiful white one with blue eyes approached and licked her injured knees, causing the young girl to calm down slightly.

"You are safe little one", the wolf said in a motherly and gentle tone.

The girl left out a sigh of relief and tried to stand up only to quickly fall on her butt. Few of the wolves chuckled while she pounded and folded her hands in front of her tiny chest.

"Come on. Jump on", the same wolf said and the girl did as she was told.

Touching the soft white fur, the girl smiled as she leaned front and laid her head on the furry neck of the wolf.

"Thank you", she whispered as the wolves started to walk away from the blooded scene.

"Do not mention it. What is your name little one?"

"Tsuki… Tsuki Okami", the young girl said as she closed her eyes and drifted in a peaceful sleep.


	2. Tsuki (Character Info)

_Name:_ Tsuki (moon) Okami (wolf)

 _Registration ID:_ 012624

 _Age:_ 12

 _Birthday:_ 2nd of August

 _Species:_ Half Human – Half Wolf

 _Blood Type:_ O +

 _Gender_ : Female

 _Birth Village:_ Unknown

 _Current Residence:_ Konohagakure (Village Hidden in the leaves)

* * *

 _Character:_

Tsuki's character is mystery to many.

She is sweet and caring at once but she quickly can become quite competitive and even violent.

Having gowning up with wolves, she does not understand many things about human's emotions or mostly human's characters and actions. Therefore, she ends up misunderstanding or overreacting to some things.

Other than that, she is a kind soul that wants nothing more than protect those who are close to her.

In order to do that, she is not afraid to pass through every object and even kill someone if that would mean the safety of those she has close to her heart.

She is brave, perhaps too much in some occasions. She is also hyperactive and quite impulsive but she has learned to contain herself and think first before act.

Past/Bio:

Her birth village is unknown to even her along with the identity of her father.

According to her mother's story, Tsuki's father was the last descendant (just like her) of a small clan and he was killed when Tsuki was still unborn.

Therefore, her mother stayed hidden and started a life at a small village where Tsuki spent the first 4 years of her life. However, she was separated from her mother when some rogues attacked the village.

Her mother sacrificed herself and gave Tsuki a small head start. Unfortunately, that did not lasted for long as the rogues soon caught up with her.

She would have been captured if it were not for the Fire Pack, a pack of ninja wolves, who killed almost all of them and gave her a shelter.

She spent the next 8 years with them and she could not be happier but a sick joke of fate, caused her to lose the entire pack in an attack of rogue shinobi, who had one goal. To capture Tsuki.

With the sacrifice of many wolves, Tsuki was left slightly wounded at the gates of Konoha. After she was given the right treatment and after the Hokage listened to her story, he decided to enroll her in the Academy and give her a better life.

* * *

 _Mother's Clan Info:_

 _Clan Name:_ Baranshu (balance)

 _Kekkei Genkai:_ None

 _Village:_ None

 _Story:_

The Baranshu clan members were the descendants of Tsukiko Otsutsuki. Tsukiko, the founder of the clan, chose that name as her role was always to try and bring her brothers together along with continuing her father's dream and bring back the peace and balance to the Shinobi word.

The Main Branch Members of the clan are also the wielders of the remaining Ten Tails/Kaguya Chakra along with some living part of her in their DNA.

When the strongest son/daughter reaches the correct age, he/she becomes the next vessel/wielder until he/she passes it on the next generation.

They had managed to keep the whole ritual a secret until a spy from an unknown village speared the rumors and the clan became the main target of Rogues as well as Shinobi from all the nations who wanted the use that power for their own purpose good or bad.

Tamiko, Tsuki's mother, was the only one who had managed to avoid the massacre, as she happened to be out of the village the time of the attack.

After hearing the news, she stayed hidden and even when Tsuki was born, she taught her to always give her father's clan name and not hers.

* * *

 _Father's Clan Info:_

 _Clan Name:_ Okami (Wolf)

 _Village:_ Unknown

 _Kekkei Genkai:_ Okami Seshin (Wolf Spirit)

This Kekkei Genkai has 3 stages, all of them consist of increasing and decreasing certain abilities while changing a part or the complete body of the wielder.

 **1st stage:**

The user's face turn into one of a wolf, (features and colors are different in every member). This stage raises strength, endurance and stamina but at the same time, lowers speed and agility. Usually used for close range battles.

 **2nd Stage:**

The user's eyes are the only thing that changes (simply the pupils turn into slits and the eye color stays the same. Two thin black lines appear on the cheeks and on the ears. This stage raises speed, agility but at the same time lowers strength and stamina. Usually used for mid or long-range battles.

 **3rd Stage:**

The user transforms completely into a wolf (color, size of the wolf, featured and patterns are different in every member). That stage raises speed, stamina, agility and keens the senses to the maximum but at the same time lowers strength and endurance. Usually used for travel or retrieval missions.

 _Story:_

No one knows exactly from where this clan is. Some they say that they never had a village or their own was destroyed many years ago.

There are still some records and those who had studied or happened to encounter a memebr of that clan, know that they are part wolf and that they have extremely keen senses along with the ears and tail.

On top of that, they are known to be excellent trackers and while they were thriving, after the 3rd Shinobi war, they slowly started to decrease in number until they disappeared without a trace.

* * *

 _Appearance:_

 _Height:_ 1\. 50cm

 _Weight:_ 38 kg

 _Eye Color:_ Blue-Lavender

 _Hair Color:_ White

 _Style:_ Ponytail or Loose

 _Outfit:_

\- Lavender tight sleeveless crop that stop above her bellybutton and the Okami Clan Symbol (Black colour and in the back)

-Dak Grey, tight ninja shorts that stop in the middle of her thigh.

-Black short ninja sandals.

\- A Dark Grey and Black sleeved jacket with white fur on the hood and on the wrists.

\- Purple/Lavender Head Protector on her forehead.

\- Kunai holster on her right thigh and Weapon Pouch on both of her legs.

* * *

 _Relationships:_

 _Father:_ Takeshi (warrior) Okami (deceased).

 _Mother:_ Tamiko (child of people) Baranshu (deceased).

 _Love Interest_ : None (yet)

Chakra Type: Earth, Lightning

* * *

 **NINJA STATS**

1-5: Horrible

6-8: Below Average

9-10: Average

11-13: Above Average

14-16: Talented

17-18: Gifted [This is Sannin level]

* * *

 **Ninjutsu [ninja techniques]:** 9.5

 **Genjutsu [illusion techniques]:** 8

 **Taijutsu [martial arts techniques]:** 10.5

 **Kekkei Genkai [bloodline traits] :** \- (she has not unlocked it yet).

 **Doujutsu [eye techniques]:** None

 **Kinjutsu [forbidden techniques]:** 1

 **Fuuinjutsu [sealing techniques]** : 1

 **Nindo:** Never abandon your Friends and Family


	3. Chapter 0

It was yet another peaceful day at Konoha. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and every villager was up to his or her everyday business.

In the ninja Academy, where young kids learn the basic of being a Shinobi, nothing was out of the ordinary.  
Some kids were secretly chatting with each other, some others were sleeping while others, mostly girls, spent their time gazing at the popular and handsome (for them) boy at the class.

Suddenly, a slightly tanned brown haired ninja opened the door. His brown hair was on a top short ponytail and had a scar across his nose.

He left out a sigh and walked in while dragging a young blond boy behind him. The said boy had blue eyes and 3 whiskers on each of his cheeks.

He was tied up with a rope and was dragged to the centre of the class in order to be scolded for something he did.

"That's it Naruto! You failed the graduation test 3 times! Tomorrow is your last chance and you do pranks instead of reading!", Iruka suddenly shouted and Naruto only huffed before looking the other way.

A vein popped on his forehead and was ready to shout and yell some more but stopped as someone cleared his throat, earning everyone's attention.

In the door was standing an old man with wrinkled face. His gentle brown eyes scanned the classroom and he gave soft smile at each of the child he knew and adore.

"Lord Hokage, what do we own the visit?", the teacher asked as he suddenly forgot the blond prankster.

"Sorry to interrupt your… scolding Iruka but I brought you a new student"

"A new student? With all the respect Lord Hokage but tomorrow is the graduation test", Iruka said while some kids nodded in agreement.

"Oh, do not worry Iruka. She is a fast learner and I am sure she will have no problem with it"

"Okay then, where is she?"

"Right here", the Hokage said as he pushed a young white haired girl in front of him.

Her hair was tied in a high ponytail that stopped at her butt. Her lavender-blue eyes filled with curiosity and slightly sadness watched each of the students carefully while small bids of seat had appeared on the forehead.

However, what had got everyone's attention were the white wolf ears on top of her head and the white wolf tail that was currently between her legs.

"Look at her"

"She is so cute"

"She is weird"

"Are those real?"

"Who is she?"

"Okay class, enough!", Iruka said and everyone stopped. "Why don't you introduce yourself?

The young girl replied with a nod of her head and with a slight push of the Hokage, she walked and stopped in the middle of the class, right next to the tight blond boy.

"Hello! My name is Tsuki Okami and is nice to meet you all", she said and bowed, causing most of the boys to look with heart in their eyes.

"Nice to meet you Tsuki. I am Iruka Umino but you can call me Iruka sensei", Iruka said and Tsuki replied with a simple nod. "Okay, does anyone have any questions about Tsuki?"

With that, most if not all the class raised hands and Tsuki did not know whom to choose. Finally, she randomly chose a boy at the end of the classroom.

"Are you single?"

"Yeah…?", she replied while tilting her head to the side, not only for the weird question she did not understand but also of the sigh of reliefs most of the boys left.

After she decided to push it aside, she scanned the class before choosing a girl this time.

"Do you like someone from here?", she asked while her gaze was between her and a black-blue in a shape of duck butt haired boy that was sitting next to the window.

"Like… Like friend?", Tsuki asked while tilting her head to the side.

"No, like … like like… someone you think is beautiful", another girl said and Tsuki bit her bottom lip, still confused about the whole question.

"Okay, no more question!", Iruka said and all the hands fall down followed by some groans. "Okay Tsuki, there is an empty seat back there"

With a nod Tsuki made her way towards the empty desk Iruka had pointed at her. Her ears moves from left to right as she heard the whispers about her but she simply ignored them. Leaving out a sigh, she sat down as close to the window as she could.

"Okay class! Listen up!", Iruka shouted, gaining everyone's attention. "Because Naruto missed it, we are going to repeat the Transformation Jutsu!"

Groans were heard from almost everyone as the kids stood on a line in front of their teacher. Tsuki was between the black-blue haired boy and Naruto while at the front was a pink haired girl with emerald eyes.

"Okay, first is Sakura Haruno", Iruka said and the pink haired took a few steps front before placing her hand on the tora sign.

"Transform!", she said and with a pouf of smoke, she transformed into her teacher.

"You transformed into me, good", Iruka said as he marked on his clipboard.

"Did you see that Sasuke?", Sakura asked as she passed by the raven haired boy, who simply ignored her.

"Okay, Sasuke Uchiha"

Sasuke stood in front of his sensei and with his hands in his pocket and no words, he quickly transformed into an exact copy of Iruka before transforming back to himself.

"Very good, next is Tsuki Okami"

"Iruka sensei, how do we know that she can do it? Maybe she doesn't know anything!" Sakura pointed out.

A growl escaped the wolf girl's lips as she glared at the pink haired. Taking a few steps at the front, she transformed into the 3rd Hokage without any sign. Then, she undid her jutsu and was back to her own self in no time.

"Very Impressive Tsuki", Iruka commented while marking on his clipboard, his eyes still widen from her transformation.

"You said something cotton candy?", Tsuki said as she stood to the side and started a starring contest with her while some students gapsed in the background.

A deadly aura was coming from both of them as they continued their contest. The sweet innocent Tsuki had disappeared and a short-tempered one had taken her place, causing some to sweat drop at their childish behavior.

"Okay, that's enough you two!", Iruka said and the two girls quickly looked the other way while scoffing.

 _Stupid cotton candy,_ Tsuki thought as she slowly started to calm down.

 _Stupid freak. Who does she think she is?,_ Sakura wondered. _'_ _That's right! She tries to impress Sasuke and steal him form us!'_ , her inner self said.

"Next Naruto Uzumaki", Iruka said and snapped the two girls from their thoughts.

"Thanks a lot Naruto." a boy with brown pineapple hair complained.

He had a sleepy and bored expression on his face while he was leaning on a desk behind him.

"Yeah," A blonde girl agreed.

She had blue eyes, and her right one was covered by a blonde bang and was standing not too far from the pineapple boy.

"Like I care", Naruto, answered before placing his hands on the right hand sign. "Transform", he said and smock covered him.

When it cleared, it exposed an older female Naruto. Her blond hair were in two ponytails and she was naked. Some smoke was covering her private parts and she sent a kiss to Iruka who quickly fall behind with a nosebleed.

Almost all the boys in the class started laughing while most of the girls were sending him death glares.

Tsuki placed her hand in front of her mouth and closed her eyes as she started to giggle. She was amused by the whole scene and did not notice that almost all the boys in the class were blushing as they thought her giggle was cute.

"Gotcha! This is my sexy jutsu sensei!" Naruto said while bursting to laughs.

"That's enough Naruto, cut the tricks. This is your last warning!" Iruka yelled at him while an anime vein popped had appeared on his forehead.

Tsuki covered her sensitive wolf ears and shook her head in disapproval at the loudness of his voice.

\- - - - - - - -  
After the whole scene, the rest of the kids did the transformation jutsu and then Iruka continued with his lesson. Soon, lunchtime arrived and the kids quickly left the classroom, leaving behind Tsuki, Sasuke and Iruka.

As the wolf girl was making her way towards the door, someone passed next to her and bumped his shoulder with hers.

A silent growl escaped he lips as she glared at the responsible one, who was not other than Sasuke. He stopped at the door and turned his head, glaring at Tsuki who quickly replied with her own.

She turned her hands into fists and was ready to do something for his behavior but was stopped by someone calling her name.

"Tsuki wait!", Iruka shouted and she was forced to break the glare.

Sasuke smirked in victory as he exited the class and left the young girl with her teacher alone. After she made a mental note to keep a close eye on him, Tsuki turned her attention to her sensei who was sitting at his desk.

"Come here please", he said and Tsuki walked towards his desk, only to see different papers on his hands. The lunch is over in 30, take this and answer as many as you can. Later, I will test you on the shuriken throwing okay?"

"Yes sensei", she said as she took a seat at the middle desk and quickly started to write down the answers.

She bit her lip as she found it difficult in some parts, mostly when was about the shinobi rules and the shinobi past.

However, she managed to finish it all and just in time as the moment, she stood up, her classmates started to enter.  
She gave the papers to her sensei, who was once again impressed and went to sit at her new seat next to the window.

\- - - - - - - - -  
Iruka continued his lesson and after a few more hours, he finished earning some sigh of relief. Ignoring them, he cleared his throat and said:

"Okay class! Tomorrow is the graduation test. Remember to repeat everything we have learned so far and take a proper rest. I will see you all tomorrow"

Slowly the class started to empty and Tsuki walked to Iruka's desk as she had to been tested on the shuriken throwing.

"Where do you think you are going Naruto?!", Suddenly Iruka shouted and Tsuki greeted her teeth and covered her sensitive ears. Damn, he is loud, she thought.

"Well… ehm…"

"You are not going anywhere! You are going to stay here until I test Tsuki on shuriken throwing and then you are going to clean the mess you did"

"Oh man!", Naruto complained as he silently followed Tsuki and Iruka outside to the throwing wooden polls.

"Okay Tsuki. Here are 6 shuriken. Try to hit one or more of the three polls", Iruka instructed as she gave Tsuki the shuriken.

The white haired girl grabbed three on each hand and took position. Taking a deep breath, she threw the shuriken and pined two at each target, making Naruto and Iruka's jaw to drop.

"Wow! You are amazing!", Naruto exclaimed and Tsuki slightly blushed while rubbing the back of her neck. _And pretty too_ , the blond thought as he also blushed slightly.

"Thanks Naruto", the white haired girl said and gave Naruto a closed eye smile.

"Don't mention it!", he replied as he gave his foxy grin while also rubbing the back of his neck.

 _I see that someone has already a crash huh?_ Iruka thought as he watched amused the scene in front of him.

However, he quickly remembered Naruto's punishment and cleared his throat, earning both of their attention.

"Okay, Tsuki you did great. Naruto, you are going to clean the Hokage monuments", he said as he pushed Naruto towards the exit of the Academy.

"Wait! Iruka sensei!", Tsuki called as she grabbed his chunin vest.

"Yes?"

"May I help?"

"W-what?", Naruto asked, shocked by her question.

"May I help Naruto with the cleaning?"

"Why would you want that? You are not the one who did the prank"

"Still, he deserved some help and I do not mind", she said and looked at Naruto who had blushed once again.

"Okay then. If you want", Iruka said as the trio walked towards the Hokage Faces.

\- - - - - - - -

Naruto and Tsuki were cleaning the paint from the Hoakge faces for a while now. The sun had already started to set and the sky was already panted with a beautiful mix of red, pink, yellow and orange.

"This sucks… loser", Naruto complained.

"You are not going home until you clean every single drop of paint!", Iruka sensei shouted. "Tsuki, you have done enough. You are free to go home"

"No thanks sensei. There is still a lot to help with"

"So what, it is not like anyone is waiting home for me", Naruto said and caused Tsuki to stop and look at him.

 _He has no parents?,_ she wondered as her ears quickly fall behind and her tail lowered.

"Huh? Do I have something on my face Tsuki?", Naruto asked and snapped the young girl from her thoughts.

"What? … No! I was just thinking", she said and returned to cleaning.

"What about your parents?", Naruto asked after a while and Tsuki looked at the ground.

"They are dead", she said, her voice almost a whisper but the two males heard her.

Naruto quickly bit his lip as he started to regret his question while Iruka looked at the white haired girl with pity in his eyes.

After an awkward moment of silence, Naruto turned back to cleaning while sending some slight glances at Tsuki who was cleaning slower than before and her mood had suddenly dropped.

"Naruto, Tsuki…"

"What is it sensei?", Naruto asked, not even caring to look at him while Tsuki simply stayed quiet.

"How about after you finish, I am going to treat you both ramen"

"Now that is some serious motivation! Am I right Tsuki?", Naruto asked, his smile had returned to his face.

"I guess so but Naruto, what is Ramen?", Tsuki asked as she titled her head to the side.

"What?! You have never tasted ramen!", Naruto shouted in disbelief and caused the young girl to cover her ears.

"Naruto…please do not shout"

"Oh sorry Tsuki but Ramen is… is the most amazing food in the world! It is super delicious and the best Ramen is served here, in Ichiraku's!"

On mansion of delicious food, Tsuki's stomach started to complain and the white haired girl looked away as a faint blush covered her cheeks.

"I see someone is hungry", Iruka commented with a slight chuckle. "Come on, finish cleaning and you are going to eat"

\- - - - - - - -

After the duo had finished cleaning, Iruka did as he had said and treated it them ramen. Now, they were sitting at Ichiraku, the best ramen place in the village and of course, Naruto's favorite.

"Oh my Kami! It was delicious!", Tsuki exclaimed as finished her ramen with extra pork.

"I told you so. Man, I do not know how you lived all this years without it", Naruto commented as he finished his 12th bowl.

"Naruto", Iruka said and cased the said blond to look at him with a mouth full of ramen. "Why would you do that to the Hokage faces? I mean, you know who the Hokage are don't you?"

"Of course I do", Naruto, said as he swallowed his ramen." I know they earned the title Hokage because they were the best ninja of their time, right. Especially the fourth Hokage, who saved the village from the nine-tailed demon fox"

 _Kurama, his name is Kurama,_ Tsuki thought as she disliked the way everyone was calling the bijuu with the number of their tails.

Tsuki had heard stories from the elders of her pack about them and she could not help but feel awed and amazed by them. However, she also heard how people were referring or seeing them and could not stop but hate it.

"Then why did you paint their faces?", Iruka asked and snapped the girl from her thoughts.

"Because I am going to become Hokage someday. I will be the greatest Hokage of all times and everyone will respect of me.. By the way sensei, may I ask a favor?"

"You want another bowl?"

"No, can I borrow your headband for a while?"

"Sorry Naruto but this is worn by those who graduate the Academy. Tomorrow Tsuki and you will take one, if you pass"

"You are so mean", Naruto huffed while crossing his hands in front of his chest, causing Tuski to giggle and the Uzumaki to blush slightly at her cute giggle.

"So, that is why you took off your goggles?"

Naruto did not say anything at first. Instead, he looked at the old man/chef with a hungry look on his face.

"Can I have another bowl?", he asked, causing Iruka's sensei face to pale as he noticed the dozen empty bowls in front of Naruto.

\- - - - - -  
After Iruka gave almost all of his money for Naruto's ramen, he left his two students and headed towards his home while the young due towards theirs.

"So, Tsuki…"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you helped me cleaning the Hokage faces?", Naruto asked sheepishly as they both walked the empty streets.

"Well…", Tsuki said as she turned her attention at the starry sky before looking at him. "We are friends right? And that is what friends do", she explained and caused Naruto to freeze in his trucks.

"F-friends? You mean, you want to… You consider me as your friend?"

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?", Tsuki asked as she placed her hands on top of his and caused him to blush slightly.

"W-well… no one w-wants to be my f-friend", Naruto explained as he quickly pulled his hands back and continued walking, Tsuki quickly catching up with him.

"They lose if they do not. Also, nice jutsu back there"

"You mean my sexy jutsu?"

"Yeah, it was funny. Plus, it is unique… just like you, Tsuki said and caused Naruto to blush a deep red at her  
comment. "Did I say something wrong Naruto? Do you have a fever?", Tuski asked as she went to place her hand on his forehead but Naruto quickly pushed her hand away.

"W-what? No… I… I m-mean I do not have a fever and you are the forst to like my jutsu", Naruto explained as they stopped in front of a block of apartments.

Tsuki shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to step in the building, only for Naruto to grab her wrist.

"Wait Tsuki! Where do you live?", he asked.

"Here! The Hokage gave me an apartment here", she explained and Naruto's face lighten up with happiness as he had not only a friedn but also an apartment mate.


	4. Chapter 1

**[A/N] - Many thanks and a quick shout out to my first reviewers: _Powerpuff_ and _Langas._ **

**I know there are quite a few spelling mistakes but I am trying my best to correct them since Enlgish isn't my first language and sometimes I don't even see them as incorrect. In addition, my Naruto stories were written around a year ago and now I decided to publish them here. Therefore, my writing might be not the best for a few chapters but I ptomise you that you will see changes as time passes by.**

 **Thank you once again for giving my book a chance and I own nothing minus my OCs.**

Chapter 2

The next day Tsuki woke up as early as usual due to the nightmares that were haunting her. After eating breakfast and wearing her everyday attire, she wore her ninja sandals and proceeded on waking up her new friend.

"Come on Naruto! We are going to be late!", she shouted as she knocked on his door.

A few seconds passed then a minute and when Tsuki was ready to knock again, a still sleepy Naruto opened the door.

His light blue night hat, was on top of his head and he was trying his best to keep his eyes awake.

*Yawn* Why are you shouting Tsuki?", he asked and the white haired girl left out a sigh.

"Come on or we are going to be late!", she shouted and Naruto flinched.

"Okay, okay. I just finished breakfast. Let me dress up and we are leaving", the blond said and went to his room, letting the door open for Tsuki to enter.

She did so and after she closed the door, she looked at the small apartment. It was the same as hers, only dirtier and stinker. On the horrible smell of dirty underwear and leftover food, Tsuki closed her nose and tried her best not to puke.

Thankfully, Naruto came not too after, all dressed in his usual orange-blue jumpsuit. After he wore his blue ninja sandals, the two friends made their way to the Academy while slightly talking with each other.

* * *

"Okay class, today is the graduation test. If you pass, you will take your headband and you will be finally a genin. The test is based on clone jutsu" Iruka said and Tsuki smiled faintly as that was one of her easiest jutsu.

However, her smile quickly dropped when she spotted than her new friend was holding his head and was extremely nervous. Luckily, their desks were close and the moment the first name was called and Iruka exited the classroom, Tsuki soundlessly slipped next to Naruto.

"Nervous?", she asked and caused him to jump ten feet in the air.

"Geez Tsuki, you scared the life out of me"

"Sorry", she said while her ears fall behind.

"No! That's okay. There is no need for it and yeah, clone jutsu is my worst jutsu"

"I am sure you will be fine", Tsuki said as she placed her hand on top of his. "You are going to become a Hokage, don't you?"

"Y-yeah? Then stop whining and when your name is called, show them what you really can do! You are going to become the next Hokage, am I right?"

"Of course I am going to be Dattebayo!", Naruto shouted with a wide smile.

"Naruto Uzumaki", Iruka on cue called his name and suddenly he lost all his confidence.

"You are going to be ok! Just go in there and show them what you are made of! Also, good luck", Tsuki said and pecked his cheek, causing him to blush a deep red.

"Y-yeah! I-I am g-going", he shuttered and exited the class in seconds.

Tsuki smiled at him and sat comfortable, not noticing the death glares almost all the boys were sending to Naruto, even if he had already left the classroom.

Not too long after, Tsuki's name was called and the white haired girl made her way towards the classroom but her mind was constantly on Naruto.

I wonder if he passed. I mean, he must have, she thought as she entered the classroom.

In the middle of it, there was a desk where Iruka and a white haired male chunin were sitting while the headbands were all on top of the desk and were shining under the sunrays that were entering from the window.

"Okay Tsuki, make 3 clones to pass", Iruka instructed.

Only 3? That is easy, Tsuki thought and without any signs she created 6 perfect shadow clones. She undid the jutsu and earned shocked stares from the two teachers.

"Sorry about that. I still can't completely control the number of clones I make… Did I do something wrong?", Tsuki asked.

"No, it's just…"

"Shadow clone technique is a forbidden one. No kid in your age knows it", the white haired Chunin said.

"Really? Sorry", Tsuki said while rubbing the back of her neck.

 _Lord Hokage was right. She definitely is more than capable of passing this class. I wonder though who was her teacher,_ Iruka thought.

 _Shadow clone technique at that age and performing it without any signs? Intrusting, very interesting_ , the white haired chunin thought.

"That is okay. Here grabbed your headband", Iruka said and Tsuki took a step forwards before choosing a cream-lavender one.

"Thank you sensei!", Tsuki said with a bow and exited the classroom.

She stared at her headband and wondered where to wear it. She was so lost in thoughts that she did not notice that not only she had exited the Academy but also had bumped on someone.

"What where you are going Dobe", someone said and a growl escaped Tsuki's lips as she came face to face with Sasuke.

"I watch where I go. You! Should not stand in the entrance and block the others from passing", she replied as she folded her hands in front of her chest.

"I see you passed huh? I guess even losers can do that"

"Who are you calling a loser you Teme?"

"You! I do not see anyone else here, so you!", Sasuke said and a starring contest started between them.

"Listen well Uchiha! You are lucky that I do not want to fight you because of a promise I made to a friend. Therefore, make sure not to mess with me because my patience is ending!", she said.

"What friend?"

"You know, the None. Of. Your. Damn. Business!", Tsuki said and walked away, leaving a slightly angered but also amused Uchiha.

As she made her way towards the exit, she noticed Naruto sitting on the swing all alone. No headband was on his forehead or on his hands, meaning that he did not pass.

Tsuki placed the headband in her weapon pouch and made her way towards her blond lonely friend. However, she stopped when she heard a weird and interesting conversation.

"He is the only one who didn't pass", one woman said.

"Yeah, it was his 3rd time. What a loser", another one agreed and Tsuki turned her hands into fists. Leaving out a silent growl, she passed between them, making sure to bump on both of them.

"Hey! Watch where are you going freak!", the first one said and Tsuki stopped in her trucks before looking above her shoulder. If looks could kill, both would have been 10 feet underground.

"I am a freak and not you who gossip about my best friend huh?", she said in a sarcastic tone before walking towards her best friend.

"Hey Tsuki", he said as the white haired girl sat next to him in the swing.

"Hey Naruto! Look, do not listen to those old bats. Also, it is okay that you did not pass. You can try again"

"What's the point? I already failed for the 4th time"

"You know, a friend of mine used to tell me that 'You are going to fail many times in your life, what matters though is if you will stand up and try again or stay at the ground and cry your heart out'"

"That was… too wise… how old was he?"

"Well, he was quite young actually but he was too wise for his age. That doesn't matter though, what matters is what you are going to do?"

"Well, I…"

"Are you going to become the next Hokage?"

"Yeah but-"

"Are you going to make everyone respect you?"

"Yeah…?"

"Then stop whining, train harder and next time, show them what you can do!", Tsuki said, shouting the last sentence.

"I guess you are right", Naruto said, his mood slightly better.

Tsuki left out a sigh and gave his a warm hug. Naruto leaned into her and smiled faintly. Suddenly, the white haired chunin from before approached and ruined their nice moment.

"Hey Tsuki, may I speak to Naruto alone?", he asked.

"Sure", she replied with a fake smile as she was getting a bad vibe from the chunin. "See you later Naruto", she said and headed towards the exit of the Academy.

* * *

Night had fallen and the stars were shining in the dark blue sky. Tsuki was awake, lying on her bed and was reading her favorite book about the tailed beast for the 10th time. Suddenly, she heard a weird knocking coming from the small window above her.

Raising an eyebrow, Tsuki closed her book and left it to the stand. Then, she stood up and walked towards it. The moment she opened it, a small peddle hit her in the forehead and caused her to fall on her butt.

"What the heck?", she wondered while rubbing the place she had been hit.

She stood up and looked out of the window, only to see…

"Naruto? What are you doing?", she asked.

"Well, Mizuki sensei told me a way to graduate by using this scroll", he said and pointed at the giant scroll on his back. "And because you did not pass either, I thought we could do that together"

"Naruto I-"

"Come on Tsuki! Hurry!", Naruto said and cut her off.

The white haired girl wanted to tell him that she had graduated but thinking the whole Mizuki-scroll thing, she decided to stick with him as she had a bad feeling in her guts and she had learnt to never ignore it.

Therefore, she dressed in her regular outfit and followed her blond friend.

* * *

The two friends had been running for a while now and a sigh of relief escaped Naruto's lips as they landed on a nice small clearing in the middle of the forest. Then, he sat down and opened the scroll only to pale a few colors.

"Let's see… the first one is multi shadow clone jutsu. Not this again, is my worst jutsu", he complained.

 _Shadow clone jutsu? Didn't that white haired chunin – Mizuki – said that it was forbidden? Something is off here,_ Tsuki thought as she started at the scroll.

"Something wrong Tsuki?"

"What? Oh! No! Nor at all. Come on now Naruto. It is not that difficult and also remember, you have to stand up to the challenges"

"Yeah, yeah I know. So, let's start shall we?"

"Well Naruto…"

"Yeah?"

"I already know that technique but I can watch you and maybe help you if you stuck?"

"You know it?! Damn Tsuki, you need to introduce me to your teacher"

"Yeah, maybe another time", Tsuki said while rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

"Okay then, here I go", Naruto said as he placed his hands on the Tora Sign.

* * *

Time had passed and it was about time for the sun to rise. Naruto had been training not stop and had finally managed to master the jutsu. He sat down for a little to catch his breath but his eyes quickly went to his white haired friend.

She was lying on the grass, not too far away from him and was giggling as a night butterfly was trying to land on her nose, only to tickle and even make her sneeze.

"So, time to go home?", she suddenly asked as she stood up and stretched herself.

"No, not yet! I still want to learn one more technique", Naruto said as Tsuki walked next to him and helped him to stand up.

"You sure?"

"Positively, so let's see", Naruto said as he grabbed the scroll and was about to open it when Iruka landed in front of them.

"It's all over", he said as he shadowed over them. "Tsuki what are you doing here?"

"Long story sensei", the girl replied and before she could continue, her hyperactive friend cut her off.

"Got me already, not bad. You are quick sensei. I only had time to learn only one technique", he said while rubbing the back of his head. "Listen, Iruka sensei! We are going to show you this amazing jutsu, you will let us graduate and everything will be okay. That way works right. Anyone who learns a jutsu from the scroll passes"

"Where did you get that idea?", Iruka asked with a socked expression.

"Mizuki sensei told me about it, believe it! He told me where to find the scroll and then this place. Then, I thought of bringing Tsuki here too since she did not graduated either", Naruto said but stopped when he finally noticed Iruka's expression.

Suddenly, his attention went behind him as dozen of shuriken were aimed at the duo.

"Look out!", Iruka shouted as he pushed them out of the way.

They both rolled a few times before landing on their butts a few feet away. A gasp escaped their lips as they noticed that their teacher was pinned to the wooden hut by dozen of kunai, some of them had even pieced his thigh or hand.

"I see you found our little hide out", Mizuki's voice was heard as he landed on a tree branch a little away from them.

"So, that is the way it is huh? I should have known", Iruka said.

"Naruto… Give me the scroll now", he said.

"No, Naruto. Do not give it to him", Tsuki said as she stood in front of him protectively. She had started to understand what was going on and she was not going to let her friend get hurt.

"Wait a minute. What's going on here?", Naruto asked as he was looking Iruka, Mizuki and Tsuki with a confused and scared expression.

"Naruto, do not let Mizuki get the scroll", Iruka said as he managed to pull out a kunai from his right leg.

"Tsuki, do not let Mizuki get his hand on Naruto or the scroll. The scroll contains forbidden jutsus that can put the whole village in danger. Naruto, Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself, for his own power"

"Naruto, Iruka is just trying to scare you because he does not want you to have the scroll"

"Stop lying Mizuki. Do not let him trick you Naruto", Iruka sensei said and Mizuki sensei started to laugh like a maniac.

"Oh, I will tell you who is really lying"

"No Mizuki!"

"They have been lying to your whole life Naruto. Since the decree 12 years ago"

"What decree?", Naruto asked.

"Everyone knows it expect you and your little friend. Iruka is trying to hide it from you even now. He will do anything to shut me up", Mizuki, said.

"What is this decree? Why is everyone else knows about it?"

"Don't tell him, it's forbidden!", Iruka shouted.

"What is forbidden?",

"The decree is that no one can tell you that the nine tailed fox is inside you", Mizuki sensei said and Tsuki's eyes widen.

She looked behind her and noticed that Naruto was the same shocked as she was. What? Naruto is the jinchuriki of Kurama?, she asked herself not believing what she was hearing.

"The fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village has taken your body. You are the nine-tailed fox", Mizuki continued.

"Stop it!", Iruka shouted even more.

"They have sneaking around, hiding things for your whole life. Didn't you think it was strange how they treated it you, like dirt. They hated you for just being alive"

"No!", Naruto said thought greeted teeth as he started to concentrate enormous amounts of chakra.

"Naruto", Iruka and Tsuki said together.

"That is why you will never be accepted to this village. Even your beloved it sensei hates your guts", Mizuki continued and was angering Naruto even more.

Tsuki quickly grabbed his hand and made him to look at her. Tears had started to escape his blue eyes that were filled with sadness.

"Take a deep breath Naruto. I am here", Tsuki said and Naruto seemed to slightly calm down a bit.

"Die Naruto!", Mizuki shouted and the duo turned to look at him, only to see that he had thrown a demon windmill shuriken.

"No!", Iruka shouted as he managed to ran to the duo. He pushed Tsuki out of the way and shielded the fallen Naruto with his body.

Naruto and Tsuki opened his eyes only to see Iruka protecting Naruto by using his body as a shield against the giant shuriken. Blood started to run from his already open wounds along with the new one and it started to fall on Naruto's face.

"Why?", Naruto asked as tears started to escape his blue eyes.

"Because we are the same. When I lost my parents, no one seemed to care. They did not have time for me; they just forgot that I was there. My grades dropped, I became the class clown. I just wanted them to see me and know my name. However my tried were not enough to get their attention, so I started to do crazy things that later, I had to pay for it. It was hard; I know how you feel Naruto. You feel lonely, it hurts inside, and I could not have been there for you more. I let you down, I am sorry. No one should have to suffer like that, no one should have to be lonely", Iruka said with tears on his eyes but that only caused Mizuki to laugh once again.

"Don't make me laugh. Iruka always hated you. He was orphaned because the nine-tailed fox killed his parents and now that beast is sealed inside of you. He would say anything to get the scroll from you"

"Naruto run!", Tsuki suddenly shouted and the blond did as he was told and in seconds, he was gone.

"Naruto!", Iruka shouted but he did not stop running. Mizuki started to laugh and landed a little behind them. Tsuki quickly grabbed a kunai and stood between him and her sensei.

"You know when he makes up his mind, nothing can change it. He is going to use the scroll to take revenge on the village"

"Shut up, you are lying", Tsuki said as she tightened her grip on the kunai.

"Come on, you both saw that look on his eyes, didn't you? Those are the eyes of the beast"

"No", Iruka said as he managed to pull off the giant shuriken and stand up. "Naruto is nothing like that!", he shouted as he threw the giant shuriken.

It passed Tsuki by inches and went straight for Mizuki's face but he easily dodged it by moving his head to the side. He smirked but it was soon faded when he noticed that Tsuki had also thrown her kunai. He moved aside the last seconds but she managed to scratch him a little on the cheek.

"Do not speak about my friend like that", She said in a deadly tone and soon a growl followed but Mizuki only laughed.

"You two are a joke. As soon as I eliminate Naruto, I will get the scroll", he said and their eyes widen. "Then, will be back for you", he continued and went after Naruto.

"Tsuki!", Iruka called and drew her attention.

"What is it sensei?", she asked as she came to his side and helped him to stand up.

"Go after Naruto, I will take care of Mizuki"

"No sensei you are hurt"

"It doesn't matter. If Mizuki get his hands on that scroll, we are doomed", he said and Tsuki nodded before both we take different directions.

* * *

After a little more jumping, Tsuki stopped and started sniffing the air while trying to listen for any sound that would indicate Naruto's direction. Finally, she spotted him and quickly ran towards him.

She finally found him, resting on the base of a tree. He had a sad expression on his face and he was constantly looking at the ground below him.

"Hey Naruto", She said as landed next to him.

"Stay away from me Tsuki, I am a monster", he said, not even raising his head to look at her.

"You think I care!", she said and made him to look at me in the eyes. "Monster or not, you are still my friend. My first and best friend. You are going to become a Hokage and if you think that you are a monster, remember that I am a part wolf. Therefore, stop crying and pull yourself together because that Mizuki said, is not true. ", she continued and helped him to stand up.

"How do you know that?"

"Trust me, I know. Now let us-", she said but stopped when she heard movement.

She covered Naruto's mouth before they both slam their backs at the tree trunk. Tsuki placed her finger in front of her lips and motioned for him to be quiet. He nodded with his head and they both looked carefully, in order to see what was happening.

In a clearing, a Mizuki and Iruka had just landed. Iruka's condition was ever worst while Mizuki was untouched.

"As you could stop me. You do not get it Naruto is just like me", Mizuki said.

"And why is that?", Iruka, who was sitting at the base of a tree, asked.

"He wants the scroll for his own power and to take his vengeance. That is why beasts are… He will put all his rage on the scroll and will destroy everything"

"You are right", Iruka said and Naruto gasped but Tsuki quickly covered his mouth before saying anything else and giving away their position.

"That is how beats are but that is not how Naruto is. He is nothing like that. Naruto is one of a kind, works hard, put his whole heart to it. Surely, he messed up sometimes and everyone jump at him but his suffering only makes him stronger. That is what separates him from being a beast. Therefore, you are wrong; he is nothing like you said. He is Naruto Uzumaki of the village hidden in the leaves", Iruka sensei finished his speech and Tsuki looked at Naruto, who crying like a baby but who could blame him.

"You really believe that?", Mizuki asked him as he grabbed the second giant shuriken from his back. "Well Iruka, I was going to save you for later but I changed my mind. You are finished!", he continued and charged at Iruka sensei.

Tsuki quickly looked at Naruto as they both seemed to have the same thought. It was time for them to stop hiding. Therefore, she made a step with her hands and with all the power she could master, she threw Naruto towards Mizuki.

He kicked him on the face and sent him flying while Naruto landed easily. Tsuki smirked; jumped and landed next to her sensei.

"Tsuki?"

"Quiet sensei, you are hurt", she said as she grabbed some bandages from her pouch and started to wrap his wounds.

"Not bad for a little punk and an outsider", Mizuki said as he started to get up.

"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei… I will kill you", Naruto said and gave him his most murderous glare.

"Such strong words. I could simply destroy you with a simple move", Mizuki said and raised his fist.

"Take your best shot for I", Naruto said as he placed his hand on the seal. "Will give it back to you a thousand times more!"

"I want to see you trying. Show me what you can do nine tailed fox!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!", Naruto said and countless Naruto's filled the area and the trees.

"What is this?", Mizuki sensei asked/wondered while looking around him with a scared expression on his face.

"If you are not coming", one Naruto clone said.

"Then we are going to come after you", another clone said and all of them started to kick and punch Mizuki.

Tsuki noticed the shocked expression on Iruka's face and could not help but smile.

"He is amazing isn't he?"

"What?"

"Naruto, is amazing isn't he?"

"Yeah he is. Thank you Tsuki"

"For what?"

"For being there for him. He really needs a friend to be there for him, especially since he is not my student anymore"

"Do not worry sensei. I promise to keep him safe so you could treat us some more ramen", Tsuki said and they both chuckled.

"You I do not mind. You eat like a human but he… he must wait until I have money again", Iruka joked and Tsuki giggled.

"Trust me sensei, you have not seen me eating when I am starving", Tsuki said and Iruka suddenly paled. Treating Naruto was enough but if Tsuki was like him… well… you can guess where all his money would go.

After quite the beating, Naruto's clones disappeared an exposed a shocked and scared bleeding Mizuki, lying on the ground.

"Sorry, I was carried away", Naruto said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's okay Naruto. That was pretty awesome," Tsuki said as she helped her sensei to stand up.

"Are you okay Iruka sensei?", Naruto asked him.

"Yeah"

"We should take you to the hospital, your wounds still need to be seen by a medical nin", Tsuki said.

"In a minute. Naruto, come here a bit. I have something I want to give you", he told and the blond walked towards him.

"What is it sensei?", he asked.

"Close your eyes", Iruka said and Naruto did as he told.

He took off his own headband and Naruto's goggles. Then he carefully tied the headband carefully on Naruto's forehead

"Okay, you can open them", he said and Naruto opened his eyes. "Congratulation, you graduate!"

Rays of sun light up the whole forest as if Kami himself was happy about it. However, the rays were nothing compared to the happiness on Naruto's face.

"Congratulation Naruto!", Tsuki said with a big smile as Naruto's eye glowed with excitement and happiness.

Naruto did not speak but instead he tackled Iruka sensei to the ground and started to hug his and thank him repeatedly.

"Naruto enough. We have to take sensei to the hospital, he is hurt", I said as I pulled him away from sensei.

"Hey Iruka sensei, what about Tsuki?", Naruto asked.

"What about her?"

"What about her headband I mean"

"That's it what I am trying to tell you from the start. I already have graduated", Tsuki said and grabbed her lavender headband from her pouch before trying it to her forehead.

"Now that is all over. Who is in for ramen? My treat", Iruka sensei said and Naruto started to jump up and down from happiness.


	5. Chapter 2

A few days passed after the whole Mizuki-scroll incident and the day for the genin to be placed in their team had finally arrived.

Tsuki had woken up early again, due to the nightmares that were haunting her but she had learned to continue her day even with a little sleep. Right now, she was making some rice balls for her and Naruto when someone knocked on her door.

"Coming!", she said and quickly opened her door, only to reveal a very exited Naruto.

"Ready?", he asked and with a smile Tsuki nodded before grabbing their lunch.

"Here, this is for you", she said as she gave Naruto his lunch and then wore her ninja sandals.

"Wow! Thank a lot Tsuki!"

"Do not mention it! I just hope that they are okay because it is my first time I … you know… cook something", she said a little embarrassed while a faint blush had found its way on her cheeks.

"Nah! I am sure they will be great", Naruto said as he placed it in his backpack and the duo soon exited the building.

"Really?"

"Yeah", Naruto confirmed and Tsuki blushed even more.

Why am I suddenly blushing so much? She wondered as she tried her best to hide it but no success as Naruto had already saw it.

Man, she is so cute when she blushes, Naruto thought as they made their way towards the Academy.

After a peaceful walk, the duo reached the academy and Naruto was the first to enter while Tsuki headed for the bathroom. When she returned, she started to scan for her blond fiend but quickly stopped when a bark was heard and seconds later, a small white-brown pup jumped to her hug.

Acting fast, Tsuki quickly and gently caught the pup that barked at her while his tail was winging right and left.

"My, aren't you a cute one?", Tsuki asked and the dog barked in response before she proceeded petting him in the back.

The dg quickly got comfortable in her arms and closed its eyes while enjoying the soothing pet from Tsuki.

"Akamaru!", suddenly a boy shouted and it was then, he noticed Tsuki. "Sorry about that. I do not know what got him. He was sleeping peacefully when suddenly jumped and ran to you", the boy explained.

He had brown hair and black slit eyes. Two red fangs were on his cheeks and he was wearing a light grey similar jacket with Tsuki.

"It is okay, I think he is very cute. By the way I am Tsuki"

"Yeah I know, I am Kiba. Kiba Inuzuka", the boy said and shook hands with the white haired girl.

"He is so cute. Is he yours?", she asked.

"Yeah, he is my trustworthy ninken"

"Man, I wish I had a ninken. Must be nice and you are so cute", Tsuki said and Akamaru barked, causing her to giggle. "Thank you but you are cuter"

"Wait! You can understand him?", Kiba asked shocked.

"Yeah. I am part wolf if you have not noticed", Tsuki said and pointed to the ears and tail.

"Yeah… so Tsuki, do you want to seat with me until Iruka sensei come?"

"Well…"

"Great come on!", Kiba said as her wrist and dragged her to his seat, making her to sit next to him.

"Hey Tsuki. I forgot to introduce you to the gang", he said and started pointing to certain kids. "That's Shikamaru", he said pointing a boy with the pineapple hair. He noticed that Tsuki was looking at him and suddenly blushed before he spoke.

"Hey", he said lazily and looks back to the door trying to hide his blush. Men, what a drag. Where is Iruka sensei anyway? He is late", he said before closing his eyes and tried to sleep.

"That next to him is Choji", Kiba said pointing to a fat boy who was eating chips. He nodded before he return to his chip bag and start eating.

"Over there is Shino", he pointed to a boy who wore black, round glasses and a green jacket with a long turtleneck.

"And that's Hinata", he said pointing to a purple haired girl with pale eyes. She gave her a small smile and she gave one back.

"Well, nice to meet you all", she said and gave a closed eye smile that made most of the boys to blush.

"Hey Tsuki, do you want one?", Choji asked and offered her a chip, causing everyone to gasp.

"Sure but what is it?", she asked as she grabbed one and started smelling it.

"It is a potato chip. Haven't you ever tried one?"

"Actually no but it smells nice", Tsuki said and almost everyone sweat dropped. Closing her eyes, she grabbed small bite only to have them quickly open before devouring it in seconds.

"Well?", Choji asked.

"it is so good", Tsuki said while licking her lips.

"Thank you so much Choji!"

"No problem", he replied with a blush while at the same time getting death glares from the rest of the boys, including Kiba.

What is wrong with them? , Tsuki wondered but her attention went at the door when she heard an argument.

"I came first Ino-pig!", Sakura shouted/yelled.

"NO! I came first Billboard-forehead!"

"Yeah right. My toe was at least one inch ahead"

"Have you always being this delusional?", Ino screamed and made their way towards Sasuke.

"Hey Sakura!", Naruto said and waved at her with a giant smile and a small blush.

"Move it!", she said as she pushed him aside."Good morning Sasuke… may I sit with you?"

"Back of forehead", Ino said as she run next to her. "I am sitting next to Sasuke"

It did not take a long before all the girls, minus Hinata and Tsuki, make a circle around Sasuke and start arguing about who came first and who would sit next to him.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office:

"Sasuke Uchiha, is that him?", a jounin asked as they watched each of the students trough a flying ball.

"Yes, he is the one", The Hokage confirmed.

"He is the only survivor left from the Uchiha clan", a brown haired kunoichi with red eyes stated.

"That's right", he said as his ball continued watching the whole classroom but stopped above a group of girls and of course Naruto, who was lying on the ground.

"Naruto Uzumaki huh?", a silver haired jounin that had ¾ of his face covered said, mostly to himself.

Back at the class:

Suddenly, Naruto jumped in the desk in front of Sasuke. They were glaring at each other while the fan girls were screaming at him.

Then, a boy at the front deck stood up and bumped Naruto, causing him to fall on Sasuke and kiss each other on the lips.

After a second or two, they quickly broke up and started to clean their mouths while the girls were glaring at Naruto and where cracking their knuckles.

"Danger!", Naruto stated as he noticed the dark aura that was coming from the girls.

"Naruto, I was supposed to be Sasuke's first kiss!", Sakura shouted as she cracked her knuckles.

She and the rest of the girls started to chase Naruto around the classroom. He had managed to avoid some of the kicks and punches but most of them had found their target.

Noticing that, a growl escaped Tsuki's lips as she placed Akamaru on Kiba's laps and in second was between Naruto and Sakura.

The pink haired had aimed a punch for Naruto but Tsuki quickly grabbed her hand and with a quick smooth move, she brought it behind her back and caused her a small yell of pain to escape her lips.

"Touch Naruto again cotton Candy and you are going to lose that hand", Tsuki threatened while everyone in the class was holding their breaths, anxious to see what would happen.

Hokage's office:

"Possessive much?", a jounin commented and a few other laughed.

"At least she protected her comrades", the silvered haired jounin from before said and most of them agreed with a nod.

"Yeah but cotton candy? That is the best nickname she could think?", a kunoichi commented.

* * *

Classroom:

"Hey, get away from her!", a girl shouted and Tsuki glared at her with the tip of her eye.

"Tsuki! Let her go! You do not need to hurt her!", Naruto said and shocked the young girl

"But she hurt you"

"Still, you do not need to break her hand. Let her go"

Tsuki looked at him in disbelief. She could not understand why he was defending her even though she used him as a punching bag. After a moment of silence, she let go of Sakura and looked at Naruto confused.

"You better stay away from me you freak", the pink haired stated and Tsuki quickly turned and growled at her.

Sakura shivered and quickly took a few steps back before going to sit next to Sasuke. Leaving out a huff, Tsuki turned back to her blond friend and helped him to stand up.

"Sorry about that. I was carried away some times but still, you shouldn't let her punch you like that"

"It's okay. I am used to it anyway. Come on, let's go and sit down and thanks again for helping me"

"Do not mention it!", Tsuki commented a Naruto grabbed her wrist and they both sat next to Sakura and Sasuke. (Much to Tsuki's approval)

"Hey Tsuki, we were supposing to sit together", Suddenly Kiba shouted and made the young girl to look at him.

"Yeah, I know but Naruto dragged me and-"

"Leave her alone Kiba. Today is sitting with me. Sh is my friend after all!" Naruto shouted and earned death glares form all the boys in the class.

"Why do you just leave her alone already? And stop screaming you embarrass your selves." Shikamaru said and looked at Tsuki who gave him a "thank you" look.

He blushed and looked away. Moreover, with that he earned death glares from Naruto, Kiba and other boys in the class.

* * *

Hokage's Office:

"Someone has fans", a brown haired jounin with a cigarette on his mouth said and chuckled.

"Have you seen her? No wonder why boys do like her around her", the brunette with the red eyes commented.

"So, in who is she exactly?", a kunoichi asked.

"She is the girl who was found at the gates, wasn't she?"

"Yeah! The one that came from the Fire pack?"

"Is she really the one? How the hell did she survived anyway?"

"Enough!", the Hokage said and everyone was suddenly quiet. He inhaled some smoke and left out a sigh. "Yes, she is Tsuki Okami. She is the girl of the Fire Pack, she is the only survivor and I would like if no one was referring to his or her deaths. She already passed enough and it is better to let her enjoy her life here without bringing her sad memories"

The fire pack? Is that the reason why she is so advanced and talented? No, there is something more to her, Iruka thought.

"Now that this matter is over, here are the teams", The Hokage said and gave a paper to Iruka, who bowed before heading towards his class.

* * *

Classroom:

The boys continued fighting and Tsuki was forced to cover her ears and try to ignore al the shouts while wondering what was happening and why they were acting like that. To her salvation, came Iruka who entered the classroom soon after.

"As from today, you are all ninjas. To get here, you faced difficult trials and hardships... but that is nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only genin, first level of ninja. All the genin will be grouped into 3-man or 4-man squad. Each squad will be led by a jounin, an elite ninja", he said.

"Well someone has to be one Sasuke's team, I wonder who", Ino teased Sakura.

"I do not know", she said but from her look, you could see that she really wanted to be the one.

"Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Tsuki Okami", Iruka said. Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji and some other boys left out a sigh and started to complain, as they wanted to be in the same team with Tsuki.

"Iruka sensei, why a great ninja like me has to be in the same team with a loser like Sasuke?", Naruto shouted and pointed at Sasuke.

"Because Naruto, Sasuke had one of the best scores in the class and you had the worst. We did these to keep the balance.", Iruka said.

"Who was the other with the best scores sensei?", Sakura asked.

"Tsuki! Hers and Sasuke's scores were equal", Iruka said and a few gasps escaped the lips of some of the students while Sasuke glared at the white haired girl before turning his attention to Naruto.

"Just make sure not to get on my way loser", Sasuke said, angering Naruto.

"Hey, what did you say?!"

"Are you deaf or something?"

"Knock it off Naruto, sit down!", Sakura scolded him.

"No Sakura! Let him alone!", Tsuki interfered and a glaring contest started between them while at the same time, a similar had started between the two boys.

"*clears throat* after lunch you will meet your new jounin teachers. Until then, class dismissed", Iruka said and exited the classroom.

Tsuki left out a sigh, grabbed her paper box with the homemade rice balls and turned to Naruto, only to find him going after Sakura.

Raising an eyebrow, Tsuki pushed the negative thoughts aside and made her way towards the window.

From there, she jumped aside before quickly jumping on a tree branch. She made herself comfortable, opened her lunch box and grabbed a bite.

It could have been worse, she thought as she started eating. While she was eating, something got her attention.

Naruto sneaked up from a window and a fight could be heard coming from the small room. Raising an eyebrow, Tsuki returned to her lunch and when she was finally over, she stood up but stopped when she saw Sasuke leaving from the window.

Sasuke? Did Naruto just attack Sasuke? Did he beat him?, she wondered as she threw the empty box at the bin and made her way towards the window.

When she entered, he eyes widen and she started to giggle as she noticed a tied up Sauske on the floor with a duck tape on his mouth.

"Wow! Someone is tied up for real. Do you want help Sasuke", she asked and he nodded. "Well, what is the magic word?"

"Hn", was his only answer.

"Very well! Maybe I should call Ino, I am sure she would love to help you", she said with a sarcastic smile and made her way to the window when she heard him hitting himself in the floor. She returned and took off the tape from his mouth."Well?"

"Fine, Please untie me", he said with a cold voice but at least he said please. Grabbing a kunai, Tsuki cut the ropes and Sasuke quickly went for the window.

"Thanks", he said and disappeared.

At least he said thanks; she thought as she sniffed the air and followed Naruto's scent.

She detected Naruto's scent and followed the path he took but she quickly stopped and hid behind some bushes as she noticed Sakura sitting alone on a bench. Suddenly, Sasuke, the real Sasuke, walked towards her with an annoyed look on his face.

"Sasuke you are back. Don't be so shy you bad boy", she said with a blush on her cheeks. Are you ready now? Mentally prepared because I am ready to go", she continued fangirling but Sasuke simply ignored her. "Hey! Wait a minute!"

"Where is Naruto", he asked her in a dead serious tone.

"Oh see, there you go, changing the subject again. Anyway, Naruto just picks fights with you all the time. You know why he is so annoying, because he was not raised right. He does not have a father or a mother, no one to teach him right from wrong", Sakura, said and my blood started to boil. I could feel my body shaking from anger and so, I turned my hands into fists, dug my nails into my skin and drew blood in an attempt to calm down myself. "I mean, he just does whatever he pops in his head. If I did things like Naruto though, forget it. I mean, my parents would get mad and I would be in trouble, so of course, I do not do it but if you do not have parents to tell you then how do you know? He is selfish and bratty-"

"Alone, isolated", Sasuke caught her off.

"Huh?"

"It is not about your parents scolding you; you have no idea what it means to be alone"

"Why? Why are you saying that?"

"Because you are annoying", Sasuke told her and started to leave.

Sakura froze at her place and looked at him with wide eyes. Tsuki waited until Sasuke was out of vision to make my appearance noticeable.

"You know Cotton Candy, Sasuke is right", she said as she stood up and walked close to her.

"Y-you? …! How long have you been there?!"

"Unfortunately a lot. You know, I should be angry… no I should be furious at you for the way you talked about Naruto but right now, I simply feel sorry for you"

"Why?"

"Because you are a selfish spoiled brat that can't do anything on its own. You do not know how it feels to leave without parents, without having someone to show you what is wrong and what is right. To take care of you and wait for you when you return home. You do not know how it is to be isolated, alone… Sasuke is right you are annoying. An annoying spoiled brat that does not even deserve my time or my saliva", Tsuki said and walked towards the direction Naruto's scent was leading.

Tsuki followed the scent until she reached the Academy. She entered and as she made her way towards the bathroom, she noticed 5-6 Narutos fighting with each other for who would enter first.

"Naruto, why don't you undo the jutsu?", Tsuki asked the obvious and all the Narutos rubbed the back of their heads before disappearing.

"Thanks Tsuki", the real one said and fast as lighting, he entered the bathroom.

"What an idiot", Sasuke commented.

"Well, he is my idiot", Tsuki said as she started walking towards the class. However, she stopped when she noticed that Sasuke was not following. "Well, are you coming or not?", she asked noticed a barely faint smile on his face.

He gave her a nod with his head and together they walked back to their classroom, ready to meet their new sensei.


	6. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 4:

 _Previously:_

Tsuki followed the scent until she reached the Academy. She entered and as she made her way towards the bathroom, she noticed 5-6 Narutos fighting with each other for who would enter first.

"Naruto, why don't you undo the jutsu?", Tsuki asked the obvious and all the Narutos rubbed the back of their heads before disappearing.

"Thanks Tsuki", the real one said and fast as lighting, he entered the bathroom.

"What an idiot", Sasuke commented.

"Well, he is my idiot", Tsuki said as she started walking towards the class. However, she stopped when she noticed that Sasuke was not following. "Well, are you coming or not?", she asked noticed a barely faint smile on his face.

He gave her a nod with his head and together they walked back to their classroom, ready to meet their new sensei.

* * *

Hours had passed and Team's 7 sensei had yet to come. All the other teams had already left, leaving the 4 comrades alone.

Naruto was walking up and down as if he was an animal locked in cage while occasionally was checking the hall. Sasuke and Tsuki were sitting next to each other at the desk, closer to the door while Sakura was leaning on another desk at the middle of the class.

"He is late", Naruto said with a bored face while he checked the hallway once again.

"Naruto, sit down", Sakura told him with an annoyed face.

"I do not want to, How he is late? I am ready for missions, Believe it. All the other senseis have already met with their students and right now they do something amazing." Naruto said but then an idea came to his head.

"We know it Naruto" Sakura said but then noticed Naruto putting the chalkboard eraser on top of the door. "What you think you doing?"

"I give our sensei a lesson for being late", the hyperactive blond, said as he stabilized the eraser.

"Our sensei is a jounin you think he will fall for that?" , Sasuke said and Sakura agreed with him while calling Naruto clueless.

"I say he will", Tsuki said, taking Naruto's side.

After the small argument, they waited for a couple of minutes until; a shadow appeared behind the door.

The doorknob turned and the moment their sensei walked in, the eraser fall on his defying gravity, silver hair.

He was a jounin with grey hair that were defining gravity, his face was covered with a mask and he had his headband over his left eye.

Naruto burst out laughing, feeling proud that he got him. Sakura on the other hand was trying to apologize, playing it a little angel. Tsuki had an amused look on her face while Sasuke was… well Sauske.

"My first opinion of you... You are all idiots", he said and they all deadpanned.

"He call us idiots while he fall for the prank", Tsuki said under her breath but they others still heard her. Sauske agreed with a barely noticeable nod while their sensei turned and glared at the wolf girl.

She quickly returned with a glare back, never backing to the challenge. After a moment or two of glaring at each other, their sensei broke contact and Tsuki smirked in victory.

"Meet me in the roof", he said and disappeared with a pouf of smoke.

After that, Team 7 climbed the stairs and met their sensei, who was leaning on the railing and had a bored expression on his face.

Sasuke sat on the highest one with Naruto at his right and Sakura at his left, although they were sitting a step lower than him. Tsuki ended up sitting at the lowest one, right under Sasuke.

"Okay guys, why don't you introduce yourselves?", he said and gave them a closed eye smile.

"Introduce ourselves? What do you mean?", Sakura asked.

"Well your name, things you like, hate, hobbies and your dreams for the future"

"Why don't you start sensei? To show us what we must tell", Naruto, said.

"Very well. My name is Kakashi Hatake, things I like and things I hate... I do not feel telling you about that. My dream for the future ... I have not really thought about it. My hobbies... well I have a lot of them"

"That was totally useless. They only think we learnt was his name.", Sakura stated and for the first time Tsuki agreed with her.

"Okay, blonde boy start", Kakashi said and pointed at Naruto.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki; I like ramen in a cup and the ramen Iruka sensei at Ichiraku noodle shop and Tsuki. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. My dream for the future is to become the greatest Hokage and then the village will stop disrespecting me and they will have to treat me like someone important.", he said while yelling the last part.

"You next"

"My name is Sakura Haruno. What I like, um .., I mean the person I like", Sakura started fangirling and look at Sasuke. "My hobbies...", she looks with a blush at Sasuke. "My dreams for the future…", she fan girls again and looks at Sasuke.

"Okay, things you hate?"

"Naruto and Tsuki", she said and glared at both of them.

"The feeling is mutual", Tsuki commented as she folded her hands in front of her tiny chest before starting a glaring contest with her.

Kakashi deadpanned and left out a sigh before clearing his throat and earning everyone's attention.

"Next"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I dislike many things and I do not like anything in particular. My dream for the future is not exactly a dream because I will make it reality. I am going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone", he said and caused Sakura and Sasuke to sever form his dark aura while Tsuki looked at the ground, a slightly sad expression on her face.

"Last one"

"My name is Tsuki Okami. I like many things, like Naruto, Ramen, Dango, Animals and Books. My hobbies are training, star gazing, reading… I hate traitors, arrogant people, people with big ego, fan girls *cough* Cotton Candy*cough*", she said and earned a glare from the pink haired genin.

"And your dream?"

"Well, my dream is to bring peace back to the shinobi word"

"Alright, every one of you is unique. Moreover, from tomorrow, we have our first mission"

"A mission? What kind of mission?", Naruto asked.

"It is a task that the 5 of us will do together"

"What? What? What? What?"

"A survival exercise", Kakashi said and Tsuki raised an eyebrow.

"A survival exercise?..."

"But we did those in the Academy", Sakura said, finishing for Naruto.

"This is not like your previous training in the Academy"

"Then what is it?", Tsuki asked and Kakashi started to chuckle darkly, causing all the genin to shiver.

"Of the 28 graduates, only 9 with 10 will actually become genin while the other will return back to the Academy"

"You are bluffing", Tsuki, said.

"Am I? Let's see if we think the possibilities, it is 66% of the graduates are going to fail, possibly you 4 too"

Naruto's jaw dropped to the ground while Sasuke greeted his teeth from the anger. Sakura was between while Tsuki was glaring at her sensei.

"That's crazy! We worked so hard to come here Dattebayo! What was the graduation test anyway?!", Naruto asked.

"Oh that! To select the candidates who deserve to become a genin"

"What?!"

"That's how it is. Be at the designated training spot at 5 am and bring your ninja equipment", Kakashi said and disappeared with a pouf of smoke, leaving four surprised and speechless genin.

* * *

The next morning, the four comrades met at the rendezvous point their sensei had told them. The time was exactly five in the morning and the first rays of sun had started to light the sky and paint it a beautiful pink and baby blue.

All the genin yawned before each one of them take a specific place. Sasuke leaned with his back on a tree trunk while Sakura sat on the soft grass. Naruto laid down between them quickly fall asleep.

Tsuki curled herself into a ball and fall asleep while her head was resting close to Sasuke's feet. The said ninja had a faint blush on his face, seeing her sleeping peacefully next to him feet. A faint smile found its way on his face as he closed his eyes and tired his best to rest.

Hours passed and Kakashi was nowhere to be found. All the genin had woken up and were waiting impatiently for their sensei to come.

"Where is he?", I heard Naruto complaining for 100th time while he was walking up and down like an animal in a cage.

"We do not know Naruto", Sakura, who was sitting bored and pulling the grass below her, said.

"Man, how can someone be so late?', Tsuki, who was sitting with her back on the tree trunk right next to Sasuke, wondered as she was observing the passing clouds.

"There he is!", Naruto suddenly shouted as he stood up.

Tsuki turned her attention towards the horizon and spotted gravity defying her before spot a masked face with a bored expression.

"YOY ARE LATE!", Naruto and Sakura screamed in a sync.

 _If I stay with this team I will end up deaf before I close 18_ , Tsuki thought as she closed her sensitive wolf ears.

"Sorry, a black cat crossed my path and i had to take the long way", he said with a small closed eye while he was rubbing the back of his neck.

"Liar", Tsuki muttered under her breath and earned another glare for Kakashi.

"Okay, let's start.", he said and set the clock. "The clock is set for noon, you have until then to take these from Me.", he said and showed us 2 bells. "Whoever fails will be tied up on the post and will not eat lunch, while the others are going to eat in front of him"

"But Kakashi sense, there are 2 bells and we are 4", Sakura stated.

"Exactly, 2 of you will pass while the other 2 will be tied up on the post and also return back to the academy"

"WHAT!?", everyone minus Tsuki, shouted in sync.

"You can come at me with every weapon you want. Even suriken. If you are not willing to kill, then you will never take the bells.", he said in his usual tone.

"Those weapons are too dangerous sensei", Sakura said.

"Especially since you couldn't dodge an eraser", Naruto said mocking Kakashi.

"Class clowns are usually the weakest link, lowest scores, losers", Kakashi replied with sarcasm in his tone. Naruto's smile faded and glared at Kakashi.

"When i say start you can begin,"

Before anyone could talk, Naruto charged at him with a kunai at his hands. However, Kakashi was fast and easily predicted Naruto's attack. In seconds, he was behind Naruto with the kunai, aiming his head.

"Do not be in such a hurry. I did not say start yet. However, you came to me with a full intension to kill me. So, I think I am starting to like you guys.", Kakashi said and let go of Naruto. Okay, now start", he said and everyone vanished.

* * *

Tsuki and Sasuke jumped and hid behind some leaves on a tree branch while Sakura hid behind some bushes. Last but not least, Naruto stayed in the middle of the ground.

"A ninja must know how to conceal his movements and hide defectively"

"You and me, fair and square! Now!", Naruto said pointing at Kakashi.

"You know compared to the others, you are a little bit weird."

"Oh yeah? The only thing weird here is your haircut", Naruto shouted and charged.

 _Show him what you can do Naruto,_ Tsuki said to herself.

"Shinobi technique #1: Taijutsu", Kakashi said and his hand quickly went to his pouch.

 _Wait! He said taijutsu then why is he grabbing a weapon?_ , Tsuki wondered as Naruto came to a halt.

To everyone's surprise, Kakashi did not grab any weapon but his book instead. Tsuki raised an eyebrow as she read the title of it.

 _Make Out Tactics?... wait isn't this? Oh, Kami why he must be a pervert?,_ Tsuki thought as she shook her head in disbelief.

Naruto seemed confused for a moment before he tried to attack again. Kakashi easily dodged his attack, put the book in his pocket and started making hand signs.

"Naruto, get out of here. He is going to destroy you", Sakura yelled.

"Huh?", Naruto said and looked at Sakura before he noticed that Kakashi was charging at him.

"Too late… Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu", Kakashi said as he stuck both of his fingers in Naruto's butt, which made him fly away and end up landing on a river nearby.

 _He can't be serious_ , Tsuki thought and face palmed while Sasuke and Sakura had a look of disbelief.

Kakashi returned to his book when suddenly two shuriken were thrown at him from the river.

He simply raised two fingers and stopped the attack with ease as Naruto jumped out of the water.

"Is that all you can do? And where I thought you were going to become Hokage", he mocked him.

"How do you expect us to fight with an empty stomach?! You were the ones who told us not to eat breakfast!", Naruto complained and on cue, everyone's stomach stated to grumble.

Kakashi then started to walk away from Naruto, making him even more pissed off. He created seven shadow clones and attacked. They grabbed him from behind but when he tried to punch him, he ended up punching one of his clones. Naruto undid his jutsu and noticed that Kakashi was nowhere to be found.

He was disappointed until he noticed something shining and was nothing else than a bell. He ran with a smile towards it but before he could catch it, he was hanged upside down from the tree.

"Hey?! What's this?, Someone little help here?", he shouted and tired to untie himself only to fail miserably.

Then Kakashi appeared, took the bell and tied it on his belt. He then said something to Naruto but suddenly a few shuriken flew from nowhere towards Kakashi. It hit him right in the head and caused some blood to fall on Naruto's face.

"He just blasted out from a shuriken. Are you out of your mind Sasuke?", he shouted with a panic expression.

Then Kakashi poofed away, leaving in his place a log.

 _A substitution jutsu, huh_. Tsuki thought. _Let's see, he is skilled, clever and f course better than any of us. Naruto and Sauske tried on their own but they failed. Therefore, we have to fight him together as a team! Of course, the whole point is Teamwork!_

She mentally slapped herself for not thinking about it earlier and looked around her. Sasuke and Sakura had already fled away and Naruto managed to untie himself but was quickly trapped in another one.

Leaving out a sigh and after she could not hear Kakashi anywhere, Tsuki jumped from her hiding. She walked towards her blond friend and threw shuriken, cutting the rope that was hanging him.

He would land face first on the ground if it was not for Tsuki to catch him just in time. A faint blush appeared on both of their cheeks as she let him down.

"Thanks a lot Tsuki! I own you again", Naruto said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Do not mention it. What are friends for! Listen Naruto, we have to work together if we want to pass"

"Sorry Tsuki but I can't. I am going to become Hokage and I must learn how to succeed on my own", he said and ran in search for Kakashi.

* * *

Tsuki left out a sigh and started sniffing the air in an attempt to locate any of her teammates.

She did so and the first scent was Sakura's. Turning her head away, she decided to search for Sasuke but suddenly she heard her screaming.

She knew that something must have happened to her and as much as she hated her, she was her comrade. Leaving out a sigh, she started to run towards the direction that she heard the scream.

Not too long after, she found Sakura unconscious on a clearing. She landed and knelt next to her. She listened to her heartbeat, which was faster than normal, and from the sweat on her forehead, it was obvious that she was trapped in a scary genjutsu.

Not powerful but scary enough for her mind and therefore, Tsuki placed her hand on the Tora sign and muttered the word 'release'.

A second later, Sakura started to open her eyes while calling Sasuke's name. When she understood that the person above her was Tsuki and not her crush, she quickly pushed her away as she stood up.

"Where is Sasuke?", she asked as she cleaned herself.

"I do not know", Tsuki said and tried her best not to snap because of her rude behavior.

"I have to find him", she said and started to run towards a random direction.

"We have to… work together", Tsuki said, whispering the last part as she saw that Sakura had already left.

 _It is my fault that I helped her_ , she thought as she started to sniff the air.

Her ears stood up and her whole body tensed as she smelled smoke and fire coming from her west. Following her curiosity and her instinct, she started to head towards the source of it, which she was sure it was a battle, but between whom?

* * *

When she reached the clearing, she landed with a kunai at hand, only to see that no battle was happening. She scanned the area and her eyes landed on Sasuke being buries until the head to the earth beneath them.

She started to giggle as she placed her kunai back at her pouch. Sauske looked the other way with an 'Hn' while blushing slightly.

"AHHHHHHH!", someone screamed and Tsuki quickly fall to her knees while holding her ears.

"Sakura?", Sasuke said as he finally noticed that it was their pink haired comrade.

"Sasuke is just a face, without body and it's talking", she said with a tone full panic before she fainted again.

"And that's my teammate", he said.

"Unfortunately is mine too", Tsuki corrected as she wiped some blood from her ears. "Want help?"

"Hn"

"Fine, stay in that hole of yours", she said and started to head away.

"Wait! Help me", Sasuke said and Tsuki turned to look at him with a smirk on her face.

"Magic word?"

"P-please"

With that, Tsuki walked towards him. Then, she grabbed his head and started pulling as hard as she could.

"Stop it! You hearting me! You Baka! That hurts!", Sasuke complained and Tsuki stopped.

"I know", she suddenly said and started to dig the earth round Sasuke.

The young Uchiha raised an eyebrow at her weird behavior but soon enough, Tsuki started to pull him once again.

This time, he started to move more easily and with a final pull, he was out of the whole and on top of Tsuki.

A blush appeared on their cheeks as they were both at a weird position and their faces where inches away.

"Ehm… See… You are out…", Tsuki said as she felt a weird feeling in the bottom of her stomach.

"Yeah… after you almost ripped my head off", Sasuke said as he quickly return back to his old self and stood up. However, he still offered her his hand and helped her to stand up.

"Listen Sasuke, if we want to take the bells, we have to work together"

"No way! I fought Kakashi and I was able to tough one of them. I do not need the help of someone weak as you. We may have the same scores in class but that does not mean that you will not hold me back"

"Fine, next time you end up with your body buries, do not ask for my help", Tsuki said as she folded her hands in front of her chest and glared at the Uchiha.

"Like I will ever do"

"Fine then, you be the one to wake Sakura because I am out", Tsuki said as she walked away but not before bumping her shoulder with his, making him to fall on the ground.

"Baka", she heard him say.

"Teme", she replied before dashing away.

* * *

Tsuki was jumping from branch to branch for a while now. She had managed to calm down but she was still angry with Sakura and Sasuke. Suddenly, her ears twitched as she heard a kunai being thrown at her.

Acting fats, she jumped and landed on the clearing below her, kunai at hand. She started to concentrate and her ears were scanning the area around but she could not her anything until, the sound of bells jingling made her to quickly turn 180o degrees only to come face to face with…


	7. Chapter 4

Acting fast, she jumped and landed on the clearing below her, kunai at hand. She started to concentrate and her ears were scanning the area around but she could not her anything until, the sound of bells jingling made her to quickly turn 180o degrees only to come face to face with… No one.

Raising an eyebrow, she quickly spin a completed circle while trying to find where Kakashi was hiding.

He was clever she had to admit that. He had managed to cover his scent and as long as he was still, she could not hear the bells.

Suddenly, a noise in the bushes made her turn and she quickly stood in position while tightening the grip on her kunai. From the bushes came a panting…

"Naruto? What are you doing here?", she asked as she lowered her kunai.

"I *pant* was searching *pant* for you"

"Really? Why?", Tsuki said, disbelief hearable in her voice.

"Well, I decided to listen to you and actually work together to get the bells"

"IS that so?"

"Yeah"

"Okay then. Listen to the plan carefully", Tsuki said and Naruto leaned to listen to the plan only to receive a punch on the nose.

He flew back and rolled a few times before landing with his stomach at the hard ground. Tsuki raised her kunai and waited as Naruto disappeared with a pouf of smoke.

"Do you think I am an idiot sensei?", she asked and she heard the bells jingling with each other.

She quickly turned to the right and stopped her sensei's attack. Their kunai clashed before both jump away from each other and leave some space between them.

"To tell you the truth, well yes", Kakashi said and caused her to deadpan.

"You are unbelievable sensei", Tsuki said as she placed her kunai back at her pouch.

"How did you understand me anyway?"

"Easy, Naruto has a different scent. You smelled completely the same. Anyway, lower your kunai sensei, I am not going to fight you"

"And why is that?", Kakashi asked as he also placed his kunai back at his pouch.

"Because I understood the meaning of this test. It is teamwork right? Well, I tried to get them together, they didn't want to"

"And what about you then? You may understood the point but you still need to take a bell to pass"

"I know but I will not", Tsuki said and started to head away, only to listen to her sensei charging at her.

She raised her left hand and blocked a kick at the ribs. She then brought her right hand and caught Kakashi's fist that was aimed for her face.

"And why is that?", the silvered haired Jounin asked as he avoided a punch on the head.

"I am a pacifist. I do not like to fight and certainly I do not like to kill", she said as a punch was landed on her stomach.

She was sent flying and landed with her back on a tree trunk before she slides down until she touched the grass. She grabbed the place Kakashi had hit her and slightly hissed in pain, as she knew that she would have a bruise there the next day.

"Then why did you become a ninja?"

"Long story", Tsuki replied as she stood up and quickly ducked to the side in time to avoid a shuriken. "Can you please stop doing that and let me talk?"

"Nope" Kakashi replied with a smirk and started making hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu", he shouted and sent a massive fireball at her.

"Earth style: Earth wall", Tsuki quickly shouted as she finished her signs and slammed her palms to the ground.

A giant wall emerged from the earth and protected her from the fireball. When the jutsu died and the smoke cleared, Kakashi looked surprise at the giant wall in front of him. Soon after, the wall turned to dust and exposed a slightly panting Tsuki.

 _Damn you sensei. I still have not mastered that jutsu yet_ , she thought as she wiped some sweat from her forehead.

"I see, so just like Sasuke you can perform jutsu huh? I wonder what other tricks do you have in your sleeve?"

"That is my secret and for you, to never find out", Tsuki said and Kakashi had an amused smirk on his face.

 _She definitely is something else_ , he thought and suddenly the bell rang. Kakashi smirked beneath his mask and said:

"Looks like you are out of time. Too bad you did not got any bells"

"You mean those bells?", Tsuki asked and Kakashi's eyes widen as he noticed the two bells hanging from her waist. His eyes quickly went to his, only to see that they were the real ones and she had managed to grab them from him.

"How?"

"Easy, I grabbed the punch when you punch me. Just before you sent me flying, I grabbed the bells and when later I grabbed my stomach, well I was actually tying them. Honestly, I wonder how you did not realized earlier since you stopped jiggling and the sound was coming from me actually"

"Impressive"

"I told you I am a pacifist. I may argue with other or get involved into fight but I do not like hitting and hurting those I care about. Also, I am actually a follower of 'Words before weapons' philosophy or at least, use your mind when the other has an advantage over you. At least when you have the time to think"

"You are full of surprises"

"You are not the first to say that", Tsuki admitted and tossed him the bells, which Kakashi easily caught in mid air.

He also wondered for who she was talking about along with the fact that she was reminding him a lot of someone but couldn't place the name or the face yet.

"Okay then, see you at the posts", he said and disappeared with a pouf of smoke, leaving a slightly smiling Tsuki.

* * *

Tsuki was the last to arrive at the posts and noticed the disappointed faces of her teammates. Naruto was tied to a post and was looking at the ground, Sasuke was sitting at his right and had an annoyed expression on his face.

Sakura was at Naruto's left and was lost in her own word but was clear that she was not proud of how things ended up either.

Leaving out a sigh, Tsuki made her way towards them and without saying any word, she sat right in front of the tied Naruto.

"So, you didn't pass either huh Tsuki? Do not worry, none of us did"

"Well I… why are you tied up?", she asked and Naruto's face blushed a little.

"I… I may tried to steal… the lunch boxes", he admitted sheepishly and on the mention of food, everyone's stomach started to grumble.

"Oh! What is that? I hear stomach complaining?", Kakashi teased them as he suddenly appeared in front of them. "Well, I have decided that I won't send any of you 3 back at the academy.", Kakashi said and everyone smiled

"Does that mean that I passed?", Naruto asked with a big grin on his face

"But we didn't took the bells and the only think I managed to do was to faint", Sakura said.

"Wait 3 of us?", Sasuke asked and all of them looked at Kakashi.

"Yes, you 3… are dropped from the program permanently.", Kakashi said and pointed at Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto.

"Drop us form the program? You cannot do that! You said that if we failed to take the bells we would be send back to the academy. You can just change your mind like that!", Naruto yelled and tried to untie himself from the ropes, so that he could kill Kakashi.

"Because you don't think like ninjas. You think like kids, like brats.", Kakashi said with an angry voice.

Sasuke greeted his teeth and quickly grabbed a kunai before charging at Kakashi. The jounin easily avoided his attack and in a blink of an eye, had Sasuke pinned to the ground. His knee was pressing on his back while he was holding his kunai at the young Uchiha's neck.

"You think, this is all about you", Kakashi said and pressed harder his knee on Sasuke's back.

"Let go of him. You can't stand on Sasuke like he is some kind of bug", Sakura yelled.

"None of you know what it means to be a ninja. You think is a game", Kakashi rose his tone and caused Sakura and Naruto to look at him in shock."Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you think that for a moment?"

"What do you mean?", Sakura asked confused.

"I mean you haven't realized what the point of this exercise was. Not even a little"

"What was it about", Naruto asked.

"That would determine if you would succeed or fail. Three people or four people in a squad. Use your head for once. Only one person understood the situation", Kakashi said and looked at Tsuki.

"How are we supposed to know why you put 4 people in a squad? We are not in your head", Naruto yelled and Kakashi left out a sigh.

"It was so simple Naruto. Teamwork."

"Us working together? Is that what you mean?", Sakura asked.

"That what teamwork means"

"You set it up. We were four and you only had three bells. Even if we worked together and took all the bells form you, 3 of us would have passed and one would have failed"

"That was the point. I wanted to see if you would pass your differences and work together for the same goal but I was wrong. Sakura you were obsessed about Sasuke who was gone while Naruto was right in front of you… However, you did not even care to lay a finger to help him. Naruto, you do everything on your own and even ignored the help from your best friend... And you Sasuke thought that the other were so far beneath you that they were worthless. Only Tsuki understood the point and not only asked all of you to work together but she helped you too. However, you all rejected her… One by one. Ninja's are put on squads on every mission. Atomic skills are good but it is the teamwork that determines if the mission will be successful. That's why Tsuki is the only one who passes and will be training with me."

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were all sad from Kakashi's comments.

"Sakura kill Naruto or Sasuke dies. Tsuki if she hesitate, kill her", Kakashi said and everyone looked at him with wide eyes." That is what is happening on a mission. The enemy takes a hostage and you get an impossible choice. In the end someone ends up dead", he continued and released Sasuke.

He walked to the KIA stone and observed on the names. Tsuki's eyes quickly fall back and looked at the ground with a sad expression.

"The names on these stone, are the names of ninja's who were honored as heroes of the village", Kakashi said with a sad tone.

"That's it. That is what I am going to do. I am going to have my name engraved on the stone. I am going to be a hero", Naruto said with full determination.

"They are special kind of heroes Naruto"

"What kind of heroes?", Naruto asked confused. Kakashi stayed in silent.

"They are KIA", Tsuki said in order to get Kakashi out of this situation.

"That's sounds really cool"

"That means Killed in Action, they all died", Sakura said and his smile faded away.

"This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are written here", Kakashi said and everyone felt sad. "Very well. I am going to give you one more change but this time will be much harder. You will have 3 hours to try again. Now eat but do not feed Naruto. Whoever does that will fail instantly" he continued and disappeared.

The trio started eating while Naruto was trying to pursue himself that he was not hungry but failed miserably as only the sigh of food was making his stomach complain. Tsuki, who could not take it anymore, raised her lunch box in front of her best friend.

"Tsuki what you think you doing?, You already passed and now you want to fail?", Naruto asked shocked.

"I do not care Naruto. What's the point of passing if my comrades are not with me?"

"Here", Sasuke said as he did the same. "She is right you know you should eat. We need to work together to take the bells and we can't do that if you are too weak to help", he said and gave her a small smile and she replied with a similar one.

Finally, Sakura stood up and put her chopsticks full with rice into Naruto's mouth. Tears of gratitude were rolling down his cheeks but the moving moment was ruined when everyone heard thunder and Kakashi showed up from nowhere with an angry look on his face.

"You broke the rules. Get ready for the punishment." He said and started to make hand signs. The blue sky quickly turned grey and a strong wind appeared from nowhere.

However, that did not scared the 3 comrades and they quickly grabbed a kunai before standing in front of their tied friend.

"You said that we 4 are a team. We are together at this." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, we gave Naruto our lunch because the four of us are 1", Sakura said. Kakashi seemed impressed.

"That's right and if you want to punish Naruto or any of us. You will have to fight us all. We are one and we fight as 1", Tsuki said and Kakashi smiled behind his mask.

"You all... Pass", Kakashi, said giving us a closed eye smile and everything returned to normal.

Tsuki left out a breath she did not knew was holding and fall on her butt while leaning her back on the wooden poll her friend was tied up.

"Congrats. You are the first team who passed. The other teams were following my rules and failed one after the other. The ninjas who break the rules are scums, that's true, but the ninjas who abandon their friends are worst than scums. Okay, team 7 from tomorrow we have our first mission", Kakashi said.

"Yes", Sakura said in a relief.

"Yes! Yes! I made it! I am a ninja!", Naruto yelled in excitement.

Tsuki closed her ears but she could not help and let out a smile. She then looked at Sasuke who was looking at her. She smiled; only for him to stand up and start walking away from her, his backpack on his bag.

Tsuki was sure she noticed a faint blush on his cheeks and titled her head to the side but quickly decided to put it aside.

"Come on. Let's go home", Kakashi said and everyone started to head towards the village.

"Thanks you, for defending me back there", Tsuki whispered in Sasuke's ear as she finally caught up with her.

"Nothing", he whispered and raised his speed, catching up with their sensei in an attempt to hide his blush.

Tsuki blinked twice at his weird behavior but felt someone glaring at her. She quickly replied with her own and another contest started between them. However, it did not last for long as Naruto started to shout.

"You guys! You forgot me!", he shouted.

Kakashi chuckled while Sasuke 'hn' but he had an amused smirk on his face. Sakura giggled and Tsuki placed her hand behind her head while she continued walking.

 _It will not hurt him if he stay tied for a while,_ she thought and ignored his pleading while following her team but stopped as she regretted her decision and threw a shuriken at him.

Then, she continued walking and Naruto joined them soon after. He caught up with Tsuki, who was the last one and returned her shuriken.

"Thank Naruto", she replied as she placed it back at her pouch.

"No problem. Man, for once I thought you would leave me back there", he said as he placed his hands behind his head.

"At first I thought I should but then I decided that I would free you and you will treat me ramen"

"What?!"

"Yep! You treat", Tsuki said and giggled at Naruto's shocked expression.

"Fine, fine but only this time", he said as he grabbed her wrist and started to drag her towards Ichiraku.

"Wait up will you?!", Tsuki shouted as she tried to ran after him and at the same time, make sure not to trip anywhere.

"Hn", Sasuke commented s he sent death glares at Naruto while Sakura had a disappointed look on her face.

 _I see, so a rivalry with Sakura and between Naruto and Sauske for her heart? How interesting,_ Kakashi thought with an amused face and grabbed his book.

* * *

The next day Team 7 started their first mission. Right now, they were jumping from tree branch to tree branch or were hiding behind some bushes. Kakashi, as the leader of the team, spoke to the microphone first.

"What is your position?

"Tsuki at point D"

"Sasuke at point C"

"I am at point B", Sakura said.

...

"I am at point A. Believe it!"

"You are slow Naruto", Kakashi scolded him. "What is your position from the target?"

"It is right in front of me", Sasuke said.

"And me"

"Right in front of me too", Tsuki replied.

"Me too!", Naruto said.

"Okay team 7. With my signal… Now!", their sensei said and they all 4 attacked at the cat?

Naruto was the one who was able to catch it but it started to scratch his face and made him yell at the earpiece, causing all of his teammates and sensei to become deaf.

Tsuki left out a sigh and grabbed the cat. She started to pet it behind the ar and the cat purred in satisfaction as it made itself comfortable at her hands. She may was a wolf but she had a very good bond with every living being.

"Do we have a positive ID?", Kakashi asked as Sasuke walked towards Tsuki while Naruto was touching his scratched face and Sakura had a jealous expression on her face.

"Red ribbon on its right ear", Sasuke said.

"Great, Mission capturing Tora is successfully finished", Kakashi, said and Tsuki took off the earpiece and just in time.

"Can we please get a better mission?!", Naruto screamed once again at the microphone and made all of them deaf, minus Tsuki who also flinched as he was not too far away from her.

* * *

They were all at the Hokage's office, watching a fat woman choking the runaway cat into a bone-crashing hug.

"No wonder he run away", Sakura whispered to Naruto who nodded.

 _Poor kitty,_ Tsuki thought and felt sorry for the cat.

"That kitty deserves to be squashed", Naruto said and started laughing in victory.

"Okay then, here are Team's 7 available D rank missions. We have a garden that needs weeding, help with the grocery shopping and there is need for a babysitter" The Hokage said and caused Sasuke and Naruto to shiver at the thought.

Tsuki left out a sigh but with her tip of her eye, she noticed as Naruto took a step forward and placed his hands in an 'X' before shouting.

"NO! No, no! Come on old man, give me some real missions! Not boring chores!" with that, Kakashi left out a sigh while Sakura was trying her best to hold herself from punching him. "I am a ninja now!", he continued and pouted as he sat down on the floor, his arms crossed over his chest.

Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke and Tsuki left a small sigh as Iruka, who was standing at the Hokage's right, stood up with an anime vein on his forehead.

Then, he proceeded shouting at Naruto for being disrespectful before he was cut off but the Hokage himself, who started to explain how the rank of mission was for what ninja levels along with how profitable even those D rank missions were for the village.

However, all of them quickly stopped listening to him and turned their attention at Naruto, who had started to talk about ramen.

"So, I had a miso ramen yesterday and man I really want one. What do you say Tsuki?"

"Well…"

"Silence!", The Hokage shouted and everyone flinched.

"Oh sorry", Kakashi said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Very well. I have a C rank mission for you. It is a step up but it is not difficult. Your mission is to escort a person safe back to his country"

"Really!? Is a Lord?! A princess?!, Naruto exclaimed and you could see his anticipation. The Hokage laughed before answering.

"You will see. Please enter", he said and the door behind them opened.

A man, dressed in old rugged clothes and while holding sake in his right hand entered. His cheeks and nose was red, meaning that he was obviously a little drunk.

"What? A bunch of brats? How they will protect me?", he suddenly said and looked at us. His eyes locked on Naruto. "The sort one with the stupid face doesn't even look enough to be a ninja", the drunk man said and pointed at Naruto who was furious.

The four genin quickly stood in a line. First was Sasuke, then was Sakura, next to her was Tsuki and last and the shortest of all was Naruto.

"Who is the one with the idiotic look on his face-", Naruto said but stopped when he understood that he was talking about him.

He then he charged at the stranger but Kakashi grabbed him from the collar and held him back.

"You cannot demolish the client Naruto"

"That's right and what about that freak? Is she really a ninja? I mean look at her", the starnger continued and pointed at Tsuki.

A growl escaped her lips and quickly charged only to be held back by none other than Sasuke.

"The same goes for you Tsuki. Now please, behave yourself. Both of you"

"I am Tazuna and I am a bridge builder. Your mission is to escort me back to my village and make sure to return there without any casualties. Even if it means risking your lives", he said and drunk a little from his sake.

 _Why would risk our lives on a D rank mission?_ , Tsuki wondered.

"Okay Team 7, go pack your things and we will meet at the gate in 1 hour", Kakashi said before puffing away.

The 4 genin started to exit the room along with Tazuna but Tsuki suddenly stopped and turned to look at the Hokage who mouthed her to stay.

"Are you coming Tsuki?", Naruto asked.

"Yeah, go ahead and I will catch up with you.

"Iruka please, leave us alone a second", The Hokage said and the chunin nodded before leaving the room, leaving both of them alone.

"What do you wanted to tell me Old Man?", Tsuki asked and Hiruzen smiled at his nickname before standing up and walking towards her. When he was by her side, he knelt at her height and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Tsuki, are you sure that you are ready to leave the village? I mean, this is your first mission and the first time you ever leaving the land of fire. Not to monition that everything that happened and… what I am trying to say is that if you want, I can pull you out of there"

"I will be fine. Plus, it is only a C-rank mission, nothing will happen. Therefore, you have nothing to fear"

The Hokage smiled and messed with the young girl's hair before standing up. The girl raised her head and her blue-purple eyes met with his caring brown ones.

"I knew you would say that. Fine then, you are free to go but make sure to stay safe and not over do yourself. Also, keep an eye on Naruto for me, will you?"

"Of course, he is my best friend and teammate. How could not I? Also, the worst that could happen is to return Tazuna with a limb less", Tsuki joked, bowed in respect to her senior and quickly exited the room, hoping to be on the rendezvous point on time.


	8. Chapter 5

"Okay, since we are all here… let us start", Kakashi said and as he noticed that all of his students were packed and ready to go.

They started to walk outside of the giant wooden gates of the village and a second later, Naruto bumped fist in the air.

"Alright!", he shouted with excitement and started moving ahead of us.

"Why are you so excited", Sakura asked him annoyed.

"I am a traveler now. Believe it! My first time outside the village", Naruto said and started exploring here and there.

"And I am supposed to trust this idiot?", Tazuna said and a growl escaped from Tsuki's lips as she glared at Tazuna with the tip of her eye. "An that one too? She is going to eat me at my sleep"

"No need to worry. They are with me and I am a jounin", Kakashi, who was walking next to him, said.

"Listen to me old Man! Never insult a ninja! Especially me! My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I am going to become Hokage some day! So, you will have to look up at me", Naruto said and pointed at Tazuna

"The Hokage is the number 1 ninja. I doubt you would become. The say you will become Hokage, will be the day I will grow up wings and fly", Tazuna said, making Naruto even angrier.

He then charged at him but Kakashi held him back. He struggled against his grip but his actions were in vain, as he was much stronger than he was. Finally, he calmed down and crossed his arms in front of his chest while puffing his cheeks.

"Naruto, I told you before. You cannot demolish the client", the jounin said and let him down.

Naruto simply ignored him and started to walk between Sasuke and Tsuki.

"Ignore him Naruto. He is an old bat that has nothing better to do than drinking Sasuke all day", Tsuki said.

"I heard that you little mutt"

"You were supposed too!", Tsuki replied back before turning her attention at the front.

"You are right Tsuki. Let him be, he does nto know anything!", Naruto said and Tsuki smiled.

Sasuke left out a silent growl, raised his speed, and left the two friends alone.

 _What's up with him?_ , Tsuki wondered as she started to observe the nature around her.

"So, Tazuna you are from the land of waves right?", Sakura asked as she started to walk next to him.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Do they have ninjas there, like we have here Kakashi sensei?"

"Not in the land of waves. But there are lands, which have their own hidden villages with their own ninjas"

"I wonder if we are going to meet anyone", Naruto said excited.

"It's a C rank mission Naruto, they are no ninjas in those", Tsuki told him.

He pouted and stayed silent. She rolled her eyes and giggled at his childish behavior, before slowing down her pace.

Her ears twitched and started to sniff the air around her. Then, her eyes adverted on a pond no too far away from them.

 _A pond? It has no rain so there can't be one,_ she thought but before she could make a move, Kakashi placed a hand on her left shoulder.

The young genin looked up to him who gave her a reassuring closed eye smile. With a silent nod, Tsuki replied with her own smile and continued walking next to him, his hand never leaving her shoulder.

Kakashi's attention quickly went to the two boys that were death glaring at him and gulped before pulling his hand back. The glares continued for a while before the two boys return at the front.

Not too soon after, two ninja emerged from the pond and threw their chains at Kakashi. He quickly pushed Tsuki out of the way as the chains wrapped themselves around his body.

"Kakashi sensei!", Naruto shouted as the two ninja pulled the chains and cut the jounin in pieces.

"One down", one of the ninja said as they both charged at Tazuna

Tsuki looked at Sasuke and as if their minds were connected, they both knew what to do. She grabbed a shuriken and a kunai andh threw her weapons at the chain; aiming for one of the rings. Her aim was succesful as she managed to pin the chain at a tree trunk, a little behind the two ninja. The said ninja, tried their best to release their weapon but they could not.

Suddenly, Sasuke jumped, landed on the chain and kicked both of them at the face. They eventually let go of the chain as they both fall back. However, they immediately recovered from the hit and splinted up.

One of them went for Tazuna and the other for Naruto. Sakura quickly stood in front Tazuna, kunai at her trembling hands. Tsuki looked at Sasuke once again before they both nodded. He went and stood in front of Sakura while Tsuki ran after the ninja that had charged at Naruto.

The ninja raised his giant claws and brought it down, ready to hit Naruto. However, Tsuki quickly started to roll on her back and stopped in front of the ninja before raising her leg and striking him under the chin. The man flew back and rolled a few times before stabilizing himself on his knees.

He then stood up and glared at the white haired genin, who grabbed a kunai and returned the glare.

Then, the enemy ninja charged but before he could touch any of them, Kakashi appeared from nowhere and trapped him in a headlock with his left hand while he had the other one thrown above his right shoulder.

"What?", Tsuki wondered out loud and along with the rest of the genin, looked at Kakashi's "body" only to see a few pieces of longs into its place.

"Sorry for not helping earlier. I wanted to see what you could do. I never expected to freeze like that Naruto. Anyway, great job. Very smooth Sasuke and Tsuki. Good job Sakura", he said as he tied up the enemies at a trunk with their own chains.

"You are not scared aren't you? Scary Cat", Sasuke teased Naruto.

The said blonde was ready to attack but before he could make a step, Kakashi's words made him stop dead on his tracks.

"Naruto! Do not move, their claws were soaked in poison. We need to remove it immediately"

 _What? Damn it! I was not fast enough,_ Tsuki cursed herself inside her mind as she noticed the scratch at Naruto's right hand.

"I need to talk to you", Kakashi said with a glare at Tazuna. "These ninja are hidden mist Chunin", he said and pointed at the enemy ninja.

"How did you found us out?", one of the ninjas asked.

"It's simple. A paddle in a middle of nowhere, where there is no river close by and it has not rained in days."

"Then why did you left it to the genin?", the other one asked.

"I needed to see who you were going to attack. Your target was one of us or was Tazuna." he said and looked back at Tazuna." Our mission was supposed to protect you from thieves. Now from ninjas too. This is now a B rank mission"

"Hai, we need to quit and return back to the village to treat Naruto's wound", Sakura said.

"Let's get back to the village guys", Kakashi said and was ready to take a step but was stop from Sakura's yelling.

"Naruto! What do you think you doing?"

Tsuki quickly turned her head, only for her eyes to widen when she noticed that Naruto had grabbed a kunai and had stabbed his poisoned hand.

"Why am I so different? I am just so... I worked so hard to get here, pushing myself until it hurt, training for hours, anything to get stronger. To reach my dream. I will never back down again or let someone else rescue me. I will never run away and I will not lose to Sasuke. I made a plunge on this wound believe it"

"That was very brave Naruto. But if we don't close that wound, you could die from blood lost", Kakashi said and Naruto started panicked.

"That was not very helpful sensei", Tsuki said as she grabbed some bandages from her pouch. "Here, you scared him and you should treat his wound", she continued and gave him the roll of bandages.

"Fine then", he said as he knelt at Naruto's height and observed his hand, only to see that the wound was healing itself at an amazing speed.

"Is there something wrong sensei?", Naruto asked as he noticed the dead serious expression on his face.

"What? No, you will be fine", he said and started to wrap his injured hand. "See?"

* * *

"We should be arriving soon", Tazuna said. Team 7 was now on a boat, crossing the ocean to get to the Land of Waves.

Sakura and Naruto were at the very front, Sasuke and Tsuki at the middle of the boat while Tazuna and Kakashi were at the end of it.

"How can you tell? The fog is so thick, you can't see anything", Sakura said.

However, she stopped and left out a sigh, as she was going nowhere. Tsuki felt someone starring at me.

She searched the boat and her eyes met with Sasuke's onyx ones. The young Uchiha quickly looked at the front and Tsuki raised an eyebrow y at his weird behavior.

 _Weird_ , she thought as she looked at her reflection on the water.

"The bridge isn't far now. Our destination's is just ahead", Tazuna said while broking the silence

Tsuki raised her head, only for her eyes to widen as they all noticed a giant half-built bridge right next to them.

"Wow!, it's so big!", Naruto said with wide eyes.

"Quiet! I told you no noise. Why do you think we travel like this?", the sailor said.

"Tazuna, I want to ask you something", Kakashi said and looked back at Tazuna. He left a sigh before repliying.

"Well, it looks like I have no other choice. Like you said, this mission is beyond the scope. The man who is after me is a very sort man named Gato.", he said; looked at the bridge and continued. "He is a rich and powerful businessman who illegally sells drugs, weapons and takes other companies. He pays different criminals and assassins to do his dirty work. He has a whole army of those… Anyway, he took control of our shipping industry and now we are on his mercy. Our land makes its living through trade. Nevertheless, with Gato in charge we are on his mercy. Our only hope is that bridge. If we are connected to the other land, then Gato will have no way to stop us"

"Then why didn't you said that it was a B-rank mission. Therefore, he could have more qualified ninja to assist you", Tsuki said.

"I would but B and A rank missions are too expensive and with Gato stealing everything from us, we barely had the money for a C-rank. Even the nobles are as poor as me and any other resident"

"You know that we have to return back when we are on shore. This mission is now too dangerous for the squad", Kakashi said.

"If you want go ahead. Possibly, I will be assassinated immediately you leave me alone and my little grandson will be very upset. He will cry my name and my daughter would be furious of you who left an old man by himself when you knew you that his life was in danger", He said, causing Kakashi to left out a sigh.

"I guess we do not have any other choice", he said.

* * *

After they arrived at their destination, Team 7 and Tazuna continued their way on dry land. They were walking in a small forest with a river close to them. Tsuki was observing the new species of plants she saw and was so lost in thoughts that she did not see a kunai coming towards her.

She would have been hit if it were not for someone to grab her form the hood. The kunai passed her face by inches and with shocked and confused eyes, she looked at the thrower and at the holder.

"Sorry Tsuki, I did not mean it", Naruto quickly apologized while rubbing the back of his beck.

"You can let me go you know", Tsuki said as she looked at her holder, who was none other than Sasuke.

"Hn. Watch out next time Dobe", he said and started to walk away, leaving a very angry Tsuki behind.

She took a few deep breaths and tried her best to calm down. When she succeeded, she went to take a step but stopped as she heard noise. Her ears started to swing left anf right in search for the source of the noise.

"What out you brat! You almost hit me too!", Tazuna suddenly shouted and Tuski returned back to reality and saw that Naruto had thrown a kunai at some bushes.

She along with Kakashi went towards to investigate or to her case, to fill her curiosity. Soon Naruto joined them and they all saw that Naruto had managed to make a white rabbit to faint from the shock.

"I am so sorry little rabbit", Naruto said as he quickly grabbed it into a hug.

 _Snow rabbit? In the middle of the summer?,_ Tsuki wondered and her ears twitched once again as this time she heard something sharp cutting through the air and coming towards them.

"Everyone DUCK!", Kakashi shouted and everyone did as they were told as a giant sword came flying above Naruto's head and stacked on a tree trunk.

Then a tall and skinny man who had his mouth covered by bandages, jumped from nowhere and landed on the hand of the sword. Naruto was ready to attack the person but Kakashi placed his hand in front of him and stopped him from taking another step.

"Stay back guys. This is Zabuza Momochi. A rogue mist ninja. He is a whole other level. I will take care of him", he said and stood on a fighting position. "If you are our opponent then I will need this", Kakashi said and raised his headband.

On his left eye was a scar and when a second late opened it, It was not a black like his normal one, quite the opposite actually. It was red with a weird pattern on it.

"Well, what we have got here. Kakashi of the Sharingan", Zabuza said and you could see a smirk under his covered mouth. "Too bad I don't have the Bingo book with me but I bet you worth a lot"

"What is exactly the sharingan?", Naruto asked.

"Sharingan... a rare power which recedes in the eyes. The user of Jutsu or Dojutsu can instantly see and understand any Genjutsu, Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. The sharingan is a special rare form of Dojutsu. However, there is more to the sharingan than that. Much more", Sasuke explained him.

"You got that right boy but you only scratched the surface. The sharingan can analyze an opponent's technique and copy it to the smallest detail. As for your jounin over there, his profile is on our bingo book. He is called the man who copied more than a thousand jutsu. The copycat ninja, Kakashi Hatake", Zabuza said.

"Now, Manji Formation. Protect the bridge builder. I taught you teamwork. Now is the time to use it", Kakashi said and the 4 genin did as they were told.

Sakura took the front, Sasuke and Naruto the sides while Tsuki took the back.

"Do not worry guys. I will protect you with my life. I will not let my comrades to die", Kakashi said as he saw how scared and pale everyone looked like.

"Now it is not time for your cold humor sensei", Tsuki commented as she grabbed a kunai.

"Well now I am going to see the Copycat in action. What an honor", Zabuza said with a small sarcasm before make hand signs.

Then a thick fog came out of nowhere.

Suddenly, a huge concentration of chakra came from the lake. Through the mist, anyone could barely make out a figure standing above water. Kakashi seemed to have noticed it as he started to make his way towards the figure.

"But Kakashi sensei...", Sakura yelled but she was caught off.

"It's okay Sakura. First, he will come for me. Then he will come for you and Tazuna. And if we fail, well we only lose our lives"

"When this is all over I am going to give you a nice book with nice jokes sensei", Tsuki said as she deadpanned.

 _How could he joke at a situation like this?,_ she wondered as she tried her best to detect Zabuza by his smell or by the sound.

Then, Kakashi started to explain how Zabuza was known silent killing technique. Suddenly, Zabuza's figure disappeared from the lake and everyone stiffed as they did not know where he would strike first.

"Seven Points", Zabuza's voice echoed through the mist, sending shivers to all of the genin and Tazuna.

"What is that?", Sakura screamed scared.

"Legs, spine, liver, lungs, jugular, kidneys", He said again and made them all shiver again. "Heart", Zabuza said and Naruto started to panic while the rest of the genin started to shake. "Now which one will be my attack point?"

Sasuke grabbed a kunai and was ready to stab himself at the stomach but a hand stopped him. He turned to his right, only for his eyes to be met with Tsuki's.

"It's going to be okay", she said in a calm tone and Sasuke slowly started to lower his hand while his muscles relaxed a bit.

Then, the mist started to dissolve as Kakashi released an enormous amount of chakra but then Zabuza appeared between Sakura and Tazuna. He was ready to slice the bridge builder at two but he was cut off as Kakashi appeared and stabbed him on his stomach.

However, water started to run instead of blood. Then, the real Zabuza appeared behind the copycat ninja and cut him at two with his sword. A gasp escaped everyone's lips but they somehow calmed down when Kakashi dissolved into water.

"You are finished", Kakashi, said as he appeared behind him, holding a kunai at his neck.

All of the genin, minus Tsuki, started cheer up while she had a skeptical look on her face.

 _Something is not right,_ she thought as her guts started to warn her,

Right on cue, Zabuza started laughing and caused all of them to look at him with a confused expression.

"I would never be taken down by a mere copier", he said and before Kakashi could reply to his comment he was kicked by another clone.

He then ran towards the lake where Zabuza was standing and waiting for him. The moment Kakashi landed on the water, Zabuza smirked and started making hand signs.

"Fell right into my trap. Water Prison Jutsu", he said as a circular barrier, made from water surrounded him. "This prison is made from water but it harder than steel", he continued and created a clone.

The clone did the hand sings and disappeared as mist started to surround them genin and their client once again. Everyone kept their guard up and he suddenly appeared in front of Naruto, kicking him on the face.

He sent him flying and he finally landed on his back, a few feet away.

"Naruto!", Tsuki called his name.

Then, Sasuke charged at Zabuza. He threw him five shuriken that he easily deflected with his giant sword. Then, the young Uchiha jumped and tried to punch Zabuza from above.

However, the said rogue raised his right hand and grabbed Sasuke from his neck. He then threw him flying and he finally landed on his back, right in front of the wolf hirl.

"Sasuke no!", Sakura shouted as Naruto and was watching with wide eyes.

"He got Sasuke", Naru said and looked at Zabuza with a scared expression on his face.

"You!", Tsuki said as she growled at Zabuza. "No one hurts my friends and get away with it!",s he shouted as she grabbed a kunai and charged.

Her speed slightly better than her comrades, she appeared in front of him and brought down her hand in an attempt to strike him in the head.

However, the clone quickly raised his word and blocked her attack but not without feeling the force from her.

"I see, this is one is stronger huh?", he joked as he tried to grab Tsuki from her neck like he did with Sasuke.

The wolf girl brought her legs and by using his hand as a base, she ejected herself back. She landed on all 4, a few feet away before charging again.

Having played with her enough, Zabuza's clone raised it leg and aimed a kick for her stomach.

Tsuki quickly stopped and by infusing chakra on her feet, she managed to block his attack but slightly move back from the force.

"Now, it is over!", the rogue's clone said as he brought his left hand and punched the young girl in the nose.

She was sent flying and rolled a few times before landed on her stomach, just a few feet in front of Sakura.

"Are you aright?", Sakura asked.

Yes, she hated her and looking at her as a rival to Sasuke's heart but she could not help feel slightly worried about her.

"I will survive", she said as she managed to stand on her one knee.

She raised her head and glared at the ninja while blood was coming from her nose and was staining the grass below her.

Kakashi turned his hands into fists as the scene of watching each of his students being taken down and being seriously injured while he could do nothing about it.

Naruto then, charged at Zabuza's clone once again while leaving a war cry.

"Naruto, what in the world are you doing?!", Sakura shouted while pulling her hair.

Zabuza raised his fist and punched the loud blond. He flew and landed on his stomach, right in front of Tsuki.

"Naruto are you okay?", the white haired genin asked as she helped her friend to stand.

"What do you think you are doing, charging like that?! Even Sasuke could take him. We are only genin and we cannot beat a jounin. What do you think you accomplished with that", Sakura shouted + scolded him but stopped when she noticed what Naruto was holding at his hand.

Naruto had charged at Zabuza only because he wanted his headband back.

"Hey you… the freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your bingo book. The ninja who will become Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves", he said as he took his headband and tied around his neck. "He never backs down. His name is Naruto Uzumaki", he said as he stood up and looked at him with his determined look. "Aright, Sasuke, Tsuki. Can you hear me?"

"Yeah I heard you", Sauske said as he walked next to him and at the same time, Naruto helped Tsuki to stand.

"And so do I", she said as she wiped the blood from her nose.

"I have got a plan"

"So you are finally thinking of our teamwork huh?", Sasuke said.

"What is it?", Tsuki asked as both, Sasuke and she, came closer to him.

Then, he proceeds telling them about his plan and when he finished, Tsuki had a proud smile on her face.

"Okay guys, let's go wild", Naru said and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.


	9. Chapter 6

_**Previously:**_

"Hey, you… the freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your bingo book. The ninja who will become Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves", he said as he took his headband and tied around his neck. "He never backs down. His name is Naruto Uzumaki", he said as he stood up and looked at him with his determined look. "Alright, Sasuke, Tsuki. Can you hear me?"

"Yeah I heard you", Sasuke said as he walked next to him and at the same time, Naruto helped Tsuki to stand.

"And so do I", she said as she wiped the blood from her nose.

"I have got a plan"

"So you are finally thinking of our teamwork huh?", Sasuke said.

"What is it?", Tsuki asked as both, Sasuke and she came closer to him.

Then, he proceeds telling them about his plan and when he finished, Tsuki had a proud smile on her face.

"Okay guys, let's go wild", Naru said and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

* * *

"*laughs evilly* Big words for such a little man. You think that your little plan is going to keep you in the game", Zabuza said.

"What are you doing? I told you to run! This fight was over the moment I was caught. Now take off. Your mission is not to prove how brave you are, is to save you're the bridge builder", Kakashi shouted from inside his water prison.

"There is no way we leave you behind Sensei. You said that those who break the rules are scums but those who abandon their friends are worst than scums", Tsuki said, quoting his own words.

"She is right so, bridge builder?", Naruto asked Tazuna.

"Well, I guess that all these happened because of me… because of my desire to live… but I will not let that stand in your way now… forget about me and do what you have to do. Forget about me and save your sensei!"

"Aright, you heard that?", Sasuke said.

"Yeah believe it. Are you two ready?", Naruto asked.

"Oh yeah", Tsuki said and smiled but she soon dropped it as Zabuza started to laugh, again.

"Still playing your little game, pretending to be a ninja. When I was at your age, this hand had crashed many opponents"

"Zabuza the demon", Kakashi said.

"Ah, so I was in your book too, huh?"

"Long ago, in the village hidden in the mist also known as blood mist village, before a student could become a ninja, had to passed one final test"

"Hm, do you know about the graduation exam?"

"What graduation exam?", Naruto asked and Zabuza laughed. "What is the big deal? We had graduation test too"

"Did you have to kill the other students in order to pass", Zabuza said and my eyes widen. "Imagine… young ninja like you eating together, training together and then, it comes to the final exam that changes the rules. Kill or be killed. You cannot stop while your opponent still breaths. He was your friend, shared your dreams and no is him or you"

"That is so cruel", Sakura said.

"10 years ago, the village's hidden in the mist graduation exam changed. One year before, a dark evil had filled the school with terror"

"What is he saying? What evil? What kind of change? What caused the terror", Sakura asked.

"Damn it, speak up sensei!", Tsuki said.

"Without pause or hesitation, a young boy who was not even a ninja approached the class and took down, over 100 other students"

"It felt… so good", Zabuza said and a gasp escaped Naruto and Sakura's lips.

They had a scared and at the same time shocked expression on their faces. Tazuna seemed disgusted while Sasuke and Tsuki were glaring at him. One of the many things the wolf girl hated was cruel and heartless people. They were the reason she had lost so many and hearing the swordsman in front of them saying how much he enjoyed the massacre of 100 innocent students made her blood boil. However, at the same time, she was furious with the village itself who had made this massacre graduation rule.

As someone had once told her, the ninja is a clear image of the village. Well, most of the times and she couldn't exactly blame a ninja for being heartless if the village forced him to grow up with such barbaric rules. This world was so sickening sometimes that the girl was thankful she grew up alongside animals instead of humans.

Everyone snapped from their thoughts as Zabuza appeared in front of Sasuke and punched him in the face, sending him flying.

"Sasuke!", Sakura and Tsuki shouted.

Tsuki left out a sigh as she saw him getting up. She looked at Naruto who gave her a nod meaning that it was time for the plan to begin.

She grabbed two shuriken and threw them at Zabuza, who raised his sword and deflected them with ease. However, Tsuki had grabbed the chance and had already charged. The Assassin quickly moved his giant sword and blocked the young genin's shuriken. Tsuki smirked as she quickly dashed to the side and threw the kunai, aiming for his head.

Zabuza's clone moved his head out of the way and avoided by inches but while he was distracted at glaring at Tsuki, 6 Narutos attacked him. Grabbing the chance she jumped and landed in front of Sakura as Zabuza raised his sword and with a swing made all the clones to disappear.

Sasuke quickly grabbed his backpack, pulled out and unfolded a giant shuriken before jumping in the air.

"Demon Wind Shuriken! Windmill of shadows!", he shouted and threw it, aiming for the clone. However, at the last second, the shuriken pass by the clone and head towards the real one.

"So, you passed the clone and aimed for my real body. Smart… but not smart enough", he said as he caught the giant shuriken with ease. Suddenly, he noticed that there was another windmill shuriken hidden in the shadow of the other and that second shuriken was coming towards him. He smirked before jumping, avoiding it with ease.

"I told you, no shuriken can touch me", he bragged but suddenly the shuriken turned out to be Naruto, with a regular shuriken at his hand.

"Eat this!", he shouted as he threw the shuriken at him.

However, Naruto was not aiming for Zabuza's body but his hand that was keeping the water prison. Having no other choice, the rogue ninja let of the prison and Kakashi was finally free.

Seeing that he was deceived by a group of genin and by using such a cheap trick, his anger raised as his ego was badly bruised. He death glared at Naruto who had already landed and was standing a few feet away from his friends, closer to the river bank with a smile on his face; proud that his plan had worked.

"I will destroy you!", he shouted as he threw the giant shuriken at Naruto.

"Naruto get out of there!", Tsuki shouted and was ready to push him out of the way but someone bit her up.

Kakashi had appeared between him and Zabuza and stopped the giant shuriken with his hand. Naruto fell on the water from the sudden shock but he quickly swam back to the surface

"Naruto that was an excellent plan. You really have grown", the jounin praised him and he gave him his famous toothy smile.

"I knew I could not beat him with my shadow clones, so I used Tsuki as a distraction while creating my clones and throw Sasuke the giant shuriken. Then my clones kept him distracted as I transformed into the demon windmill shuriken"

"Don't brag, you just lucked out", Sasuke said.

"He may luck out but at least, Kakashi is free", Tsuki said, stating the result of their teamwork.

"I got destructed and lost my grip on the water prison", Zabuza said.

"Do not flatter yourself. You were not destructed, you were forced to let go. Your trick is not going to work on me twice, so what is going to be?", Kakashi said.

However, Zabuza did not answer instead, he charged at him and very soon the two of them were locked in a small battle before both ended up standing in the middle of the river. Zabuza started to make hand signs while muttering something. Kakashi however, was mimicking perfectly. Suddenly, the water around them became wild before two dragons emerge and attack each other. When they jutsu died, they started to run in a circle. Every time, Zabuza was making a move, Kakashi would do the same exactly.

"He is not just following, he is moving the same way at the same time", Tazuna stated, shocked as the others.

The mimicking contest turned serious when Kakashi started to finish Zabuza's sentences. Zabuza seemed socked and at the same time scared at Kakashi, who continued mimicking his moves and finishing his sentences. Sometimes, he even spoke the same words at the same time with him, causing him to freak out even more. Suddenly, Kakashi started to make hand signs while Zabuza was watching at him frozen. Then, a giant water vortex appeared and took Zabuza along with everything on its path, away.

Tsuki gasped as she remembered that Naruto was still in the water. She quickly started to look for him and a sigh of relief escaped her lips as she found him unharmed, only a little wet.

He had managed to climb a tree and got out just in time. When the jutsu died, everyone's attention was back at the battle, only to see Zabuza lying on the base of a tree, numerous wounds on his body. Kakashi landed a little in front of him and said:

"You are finished"

"How? Can you see into the future?", Zabuza asked him.

"Yes", he answered as he grabbed a kunai. "And this is your last battle… ever", he continued but before he could make a move, two needles were thrown and pierced Zabuza's neck.

"What the hell?", Tsuki said as a boy with an Anbu mask landed on the branch, above them.

"You were right, it was his last battle", the boy said while chuckling.

Kakashi, along with the rest of his team and Tazuna, watched the boy carefully before walking towards Zabuza's body. He checked his pulse and said:

"Nothing"

"Thank you; I have been tracking Zabuza for a long time. Waiting for the chance to finally take him down", the masked boy said.

"From your mask, I see you are a tracker ninja from the village hidden in the Mist", Kakashi told him.

"Impressive, you are well informed"

"A tracker?", Naruto exclaimed as he came and stood by my side.

"Naruto, you do not know what it is. You missed the lesson as usual. Tracker ninja has a special role. When a rogue ninja breaks away from his village, he carries away all kind of secrets, the secrets of his people. Trackers are specially trained to hunt down those rogues and eliminate them. That way, the secret of their people stay a secret", Sakura explained.

"That's correct. I am a member of the elite tracking unit of the village hidden in the mist. It was my duty, to stop Zabuza", the boy said.

 _If I recall correctly and my memory doesn't deceive me, the trackers are supposed to work on teams and not solo. He can't be that powerful and talented to be given solo mission, can't he?,_ Tsuki wondered in her mind as she studied the young boy carefully.

Naruto, suddenly, ran at the boy and stopped a little in front of Zabuza's body.

For a few minutes, he was looking between Kakashi, Zabuza, and the kid. Every time, anger was boiling inside of him.

"What is this?! Who do you think you are?! Did you hear me!?", he shouted while pointing at the boy.

"Easy Naruto, he is not our enemy", Kakashi said in an attempt to calm him down.

"That is not the point! Didn't you see what he just did?! Just like that!? Zabuza was huge, like a monster and this kid…. Who is no bigger than me, he brought down Zabuza with only one move, like it was nothing. I mean, what does that make us? We are just fumbling around! We do not know anything?! How can I accept that?!"

"Well, even if you did not accept, it did happen Naruto", Kakashi said as he placed his hand on top of Naruto's head. "In this world, there are kids younger than you and yet stronger than me"

"What matter though Naruto is that Zabuza is dead and we can continue with our mission"

The masked boy then disappeared and reappeared next to Zabuza's body. He knelt down and said:

"Our struggle is over now. I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body and they must not fall into the wrong hands. Please excuse me and farewell"

With that, he disappeared for good, taking Zabuza's body and sword with him. Kakashi covered his Sharingan with his headband while Naruto ran and stopped right under the branch, the boy was standing.

"He is gone Naruto, let it go", Kakashi said but Naruto ignored him. Instead, he fell on his knees and started to punch the ground repeatedly.

"As a ninja, the things we encounter is not easy", the jounin said as he grabbed Naruto's bloody hand. "Save your anger for the next enemy. We have not completed our mission yet. We still need to take the bridge builder to his town"

"Sorry I caused all this trouble but you can rest on my house when we reach the village", Tazuna said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Alright, let's move", Kakashi said and started to walk.

However, after his third step, he fainted and started to fall.

"Kakashi sensei!", the three genin shouted as Tsuki quickly appeared on his side and caught him just in time. Then, she gently placed him down and checked for his pulse.

"What is wrong with Kakashi sensei Tsuki?", Naruto asked as he and the others ran towards them.

"Nothing, he must be exhausted that's all", the white-haired genin said and brought Kakashi's left hand around her neck before attempting to drag him.

A sigh escaped her lips as she understood that her sensei was too heavy for her. Suddenly, the weight suddenly became less and Tsuki quickly look, only to see that Sasuke had grabbed the right side.

"Thank you", she exclaimed as they both grabbed their sensei better.

"I couldn't let a Dobe like you carry him all the way to Tazuna's house. You would collapse in the middle of the road", Sasuke said and Tsuki frowned at his answer.

 _And you have to destroy it, didn't you_?, she thought as she grabbed Kakashi better.

"Okay, Tazuna lead the way", Sakura said as we all started to follow him.

* * *

 **Here it is! New chapter, after quite some time but don't blame me but the University. Anyways, don't forget to Comment down your opinion guys, bad or good is always acceptable.**

 **P.S. Now more grammar mistakes thanks to this amazing app, called Grammarly. It is extremely useful, especially if you are writing a story or are in school. I recommend it 100%.**

 **Until next time! Avoir my loves**


	10. Chapter 7

**[A/N] - Hey hey lovely readers. I am back! Yeah yeah, I know I have been quiet for too long but I was quite busy with the tests my dear professors loved to test me on. However, now I am free and... Spring break is coming which means more free time and that leads to possibly more chapters. Want to thank you all for your reviews and all the new members who favored my story.**

 **Want to remind you that I wrote this story some time ago and my skills weren't as good as they are now but I am trying my best to fix them now. Just be patient and as more chapters are coming, the better my writing will be.**

 **P.S. I** **don't own Naruto, only my OC. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _"Alright, let's move", Kakashi said and started to walk._

 _However, after his third step, he fainted and started to fall._

 _"Kakashi sensei!", the three_ genin _shouted as Tsuki quickly appeared on his side and caught him just in time. Then, she gently placed him down and checked for his pulse._

 _"What is wrong with Kakashi sensei Tsuki?", Naruto asked as he and the others ran towards them._

 _"Nothing, he must be exhausted that's all", the white-haired genin said and brought Kakashi's left hand around her neck before attempting to drag him._

 _A sigh escaped her lips as she understood that her sensei was too heavy for her. Suddenly, the weight suddenly became less and Tsuki quickly look, only to see that Sasuke had grabbed the right side._

 _"Thank you", she exclaimed as they both grabbed their sensei better._

 _"I couldn't let a Dobe like you carry him all the way to Tazuna's house. You would collapse in the middle of the road", Sasuke said and Tsuki frowned at his answer._

 _And you have to destroy it, didn't you?, she thought as she grabbed Kakashi better._

 _"Okay, Tazuna lead the way", Sakura said as they all started to follow him._

* * *

Team 7 had taken shelter at Tazuna's house. Their sensei, Kakashi, was still unconscious and his students were waiting for him to wake up.

Tsuki was the only one who had stayed in the room to keep an eye on him. However, the tiredness of the day had started to catch up with her and right now; she was leaning on the wall, eyes closed.

"He is awake. FINALLY!", Naruto shouted as he and the others entered the room and caused Tsuki to flinch and cover her ears while waking up from her small sleep. "Sorry Tsuki", the blond quickly apologized as he took a place next to his friend.

"That's okay", she said, leaving out a sigh.

Kakashi groaned as he tried to lift his body into a sitting position while holding his head from a headache.

"Of course he is awake. Now with your screams, he has a headache. Baka", Sasuke replied.

"How are you feeling Kakashi sensei?", Sakura asked worried.

"Better but I will not be able to move for a week", he said as he looked at them. "Where are we?"

"We are on Tazuna's house sensei, you fainted and Sasuke with Tsuki carried you all the way here. Then Tsuki treated your wounds along with the help of Tazuna's daughter Tsunami", Naruto said and Kakashi looked at the white haired genin who replied with a smile.

Suddenly, the door of the room opened and Tazuna along with his daughter, entered.

"I see you are awake. Good, but you shouldn't move a lot", Tsunami said and gave a smile.

"Well at least Zabuza is dead, so you can relax a little", Tazuna continues and while Naruto and Sakura seemed to agree, Kakashi, Sasuke and Tsuki were skeptical about this.

"I am not entirely sure about that", Tsuki said and they looked at her confused.

"I agree with her. Something is off here. The boy that killed Zabuza. Something is not right. From his mask, I guess he is a Nin-Hunter ninja. They also called Body-Erasers, because they have to get rid of a body as soon as possible and without any trace. Ninja bodies carry out lots of secrets about their village, clan Justus and top-secret information about their village. So, they hunt down and kill rogue ninjas from their village in order to keep the information safe", Kakashi said.

"So, Zabuza was disposed of. Scary", Sakura said and shivered.

"Yeah, but hunters get rid of the body immediately. He took it with him and he only needed the head in order to prove that Zabuza was dead"

"Also, hunters are always working on teams, especially for someone as dangerous as Zabuza. There is no way, they would leave a boy at our age, hunt him all by himself", Tsuki said.

"Did you guys noticed the weapons he used to kill him?", Kakashi asked.

"Senbone needles", Sasuke said in a low tone as realizations striked him.

"What about them", Naruto asked confused.

"They are extremely difficult to find someone with this on him as they need great accuracy. In addition, they are not always lethal if you know how to use them. So that means…", Tsuki explained as she started to put the things together.

"That Zabuza, might still be alive", Kakashi finished for her and caused Naruto and Sakura to gasp. "We have to get prepared for the next time we will encounter them. Luckily, I managed to wound him deep enough, which gives us the advantage of time until he and I are fully recovered. So, from tomorrow you all start new training"

"But Sensei, how little training is going to help us, when not even you with your sharingan were able to defeat him?", Sakura asked

"Why did we managed to defeat Zabuza? Because we all helped each other. Next time we will be more prepared about this. You all had grown. Especially you Naruto"

"Me?"

"Yes, from all of them, you have grown up the most", Kakashi said and Naruto gave him a big smile while he was rubbing the back of his head.

"Things are going to get better, believe it", he yelled while pumping his fist on the air.

Tsuki smiled but her ears twitched as she heard light footsteps coming closer to them. Turning and looking behind her, she noticed a young boy around the age of seven.

"No, they will not", he suddenly said with a rude tone.

"Inari where were you?", Tazuna asked as he opened his arms and Inari hugged him." This is my grandson Inari"

"Inari, say hello to them. They are the ninjas who escorted your grandfather and kept him safe", Tsunami said as she placed her hand on Inari's shoulder.

"Mom, they are all going to die if they go against Gato"

"What did you say little brat? Listen to me. I am a super hero who is going to become Hokage someday. And I will defeat him", Naruto yelled as he pointed at Inari.

"You are stupid; they are not such thing as heroes. You should all leave and return from where you came from or else you all are going to die"

Inari ran back upstairs as he said that he was going to watch the ocean from his room. Tazuna and Tsunami apologized for his but we all just let it go.

* * *

The next morning, Team 7 headed for the woods nearby to start their training. They were walking in the woods, each one with a different expression.

Naruto was the most excited of them all while Tuski was smiling at his hyperactivity and had her hands behind her back. Sakura and Sasuke were quiet but it was obvious that they were eager to start their training but also curious about what they will be trained the training.

After a while, they reached on a clearing.

"We will now start our training but before that let me tell you about Chakra", Kakashi said and drew everyone's attention.

"Oh, I already know about this. Chatra right?", Naruto said, making Kakashi and Tsuki to left out a sigh.

"It's Chakra Naruto", the white haired genin corrected him.

"Sakura go on", Kakashi said and the pink haired kunoichi started to explain what chakra was and how was used.

"You will learn to control your chakra and send it to different parts of your body. With training like this, you will learn to control it better and you will be able to do more hand sighs and use less chakra", he said after the explanation and Naruto gave a big smile full with excitement.

"So, what are we going to do?", Sakura asked.

"Climb a tree"

"Oh that's easy", Naruto said.

"Without your hands", Kakashi said and made Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto's jaw to drop. "Just watch", he said and concentrated.

He then walked to a tree and climbed it easily. He now was standing on a branch upside down like a bat. The three genin gasped while looking at him with wide eyes.

"You concentrate chakra at the soles of your shoes and start climbing. When you had reached a point, mark it with a kunai. Then, the next time try to surpass the already marked point…Okay now, let's start", he said as he threw four kunai that landed in front of us.

Sakura, Sasuke and Sakura started immediately while Tsuki stayed where she was. When Kakashi walked next to her, she spoke.

"Ehm sensei"

"Yeah Tsuki?"

"I… Well, I already know that", she explained while rubbing the back of her neck.

"What?", her three comrades exclaimed as they stopped and looked at her with wide eyes.

"I see, why am I not surprised? Well then, I have training for you that will start in a while", he said and Tsuki agreed with a nod, before going to sit under the shade of a tree and watched her teammates.

At first, Sasuke managed to walk a little bit but he was sent with force back to the ground, the part of the trunk exploded.

Naruto also tried but he fell with the very first step while Sakura was doing it with much ease.

 _Let's see, Sauske uses too much chakra and Naruto sues too little. Sakura seems to have the perfect control. I wonder if she would be qualified to become a medical Ninja,_ Tsuki wondered as she continued observing her teammates.

"It looks like the girls of the team are doing better. It seems to me that Sakura is closer of becoming Hokage ", Kakashi teased Naruto who glared at him and then the jounin turned to Sasuke, who was trying to catch his breath. "And where I thought that the Uchiha clan was a powerful one", he continued only to earn a death glare before the young Uchiha return on his climbing.

Suddenly, Sakura jumped from where she was standing and landed next to her sensei before walking towards another tree. Then, she sat down at the shade and tired to rest.

"Sakura, do you mind keeping an eye to those two while I am teaching Tsuki something new?", Kakashi asked her.

"Sure, no problem sensei", Sakura said with a fake smile as jealousy had started to consume her and her inner side was cursing and expressing her need to punch Tsuki for having special treatment from their sensei while she was stuck to watch over the boys. If it was only she and Sasuke, she wouldn't mind that much but she had also Naruto to watch which angered her even more. Of course, outside her face showed none of these emotions but if someone looked carefully, could notice the deadly glare and bloodlust in her emerald eyes.

"Thank you. Come on Tsuki", Kakashi said and the white haired quickly followed.

* * *

The two walked a while until they reached a small and peaceful river. Kakashi sat on a rock and Tsuki raised an eyebrow at him.

"So, you have learnt the tree climbing technique huh?", he asked her and the genin nodded. "Then, how about the water walking?"

"Water walking?", she repeated while tilting her head to the side.

"It is like the tree climbing but slightly more difficult. In the tree climbing, you have to send a certain amount of chakra at your feet and sustain it. On the water walking, you have to also being able to change that amount depending on how the surface of the water is"

"That seems easy", Tsuki said and Kakashi smirked behind his mask.

"If it is, then why don't you try it?"

Tsuki replied with a nod before placing her hand on the tora sign and sent chakra on the top of her feet. Then, she proceeded walking on it but the moment she took a step, she fall into the cold water.

She quickly swam to the surface and gasped for air before swimming towards the sore. When she touched it, she climbed on all 4 and started to move her body I order to shake all the water form above it. Then, she sneezed and slightly started to shiver as the water was cold and the small breeze wasn't helping her situation at all.

"Did I forgot to mention that the water was cold?", Kakashi said with an amused tone and Tsuki glared at him.

She took off her jacket and placed it on the side, surprising the jounin with her actions. However, what got his attention were the slightly visible scars at her stomach but before she could ask her, Tsuki had tried once again only to fall on the water.

* * *

Tsuki continued her training and she was alone as Kakashi had left her to check on the guys. Night had fallen but Tsuki had a pleased smile on her face. She had managed to walk and stay on top of the water for as long as she wanted but if waves suddenly started, she would immediately fall.

Thinking that she had trained enough and also feeling the exhaustion from the constant training, she grabbed her jacket and zipped it as the cold night wind was making shiver and getting a cold dring mission wasn't something she wanted.

She walked towards the boys and found them lying on the ground, panting heavily while scratches and bruises were covering their hands and legs.

"Um guys, where is Kakashi sensei and Sakura?", Tsuki asked as she helped Naruto to stand.

"Oh, Kakashi sensei left earlier to rest and Sakura left a little while in order to clean herself", Naruto explained as Tsuki helped Sasuke to also stand.

"What happened to you?", the Uchiha asked as he noticed the dump hair and the wet clothes.

"Training and sensei's sick jokes, that's what happened", Tsuki explained and sneezed before the three of them start walking towards Tazuna's house.

* * *

Dinner was ready and after the trio had a nice batch and changed to clean clothes, they all gathered and joined Tazuna's family for dinner.

Kakashi, Akuma, and Naruto were sitting at the west side of the square wooden table with Sasuke, Sakura, and Inari across them. Tazuna took the head at the south right between Kakashi and Sasuke while Tsunami sat across him.

They were all eating peacefully minus Sasuke and Naruto who were eating so fast, someone would have thought that their life was counting on it.

"Don't eat so much if you are going to puke", Sakura said to both of them.

"I need to eat to become stronger"

"And I need to eat more than him", Naruto said while pointing at Sasuke with his chopsticks.

"If you eat too much, you are going to puke", Tsuki warned them.

"Another!", they both asked/demanded from Tsunami at the same time but quickly grabbed their stomachs before throwing which caused the two kunoichis to sweatdrop.

* * *

After the dinner, team 7 was served some hot tea. Kakashi was reading his book, Sasuke and Naruto were glaring at each other while holding their, Tsuki was playing with her chopsticks while Sakura was looking around.

Suddenly, her emerald eyes fall on a picture that had the left corner of it torn up. In it, was Tsunami, Tazuna, Inari and another man, whose face had been torn up.

"Why is this picture torn up?", she asked and everyone looked curious at the picture.

"It's my husband", Tsunami said.

"He was the man known as the hero of this town", Tazuna said and Tsuki ears twitched as she heard water drops falling on the wooden floor.

She turned her head to the hall and the other quickly followed her gaze, only to see that it was Inari and he was crying.

"Dad! I think I told you not to talk about him when Inari is in front", Tsunami broke the silence but it was too late as Inari ran upstairs.

"What's wrong with him?", Naruto asked annoyed.

"You see, Inari never met his real father. The man at the picture was the figure closest to him. One day, he saved Inari from some bullies and from that day, they became close. He was a true hero, he didn't mind risk his own life for the good of others", Tazuna said and took one more sip from his tea.

"Inari was very attached to him. He wanted to follow his footsteps when he would grow up. When they were together Inari would laugh a lot", Tsunami continued and a tear escaped from her eye.

"Forgive me if I bring you bad memories back, but what happened?", Tsuki asked.

"When Gato and his army of rogue attacked the village, he was the only one to stand against them. He was giving the people courage and Gato did not like that at all. He decided to break their spirit by... execute him in front of everyone. Even Inari", Tazuna said and I could feel my heart becoming heavy. "He tied him on a cross and some of his ninja's tortured him to death, while others were holding Inari who was crying and begged for his father life", Tazuna said and no one else dared to ask another question or say anything.

Instead, they all looked at their tea or at their hands, lost in their own thoughts.


	11. Chapter 8

**[A/N] - Surprised? I know but I guess it's my treat for making you wait that long for the chapter. So, here you go. Another chapter checked and ready. Don't forget to leave a comment.**

The next day Team 7 split up. Naruto and Sasuke returned to the forest to continue their tree climbing while Sakura and Tsuki went along with Tazuna to the bridge.

Right now, Tsuki was lying on the side of the half-created bridge and was observing her reflection on the blue waters of the sea below her.

Sakura was sitting on the ground, her back on the rock wall just below Tsuki and she was lost in thoughts but her attention was always at Tazuna and his fellow workers.

"Let me guess, the training was too hard for you girls and so your sensei decided to send you here with me", Tazuna said with a mocking tone and drew the girls attention.

"Actually, Tsuki and I have already mastered that technique and as we are more powerful, sensei decided to send us to protect you", Sakura replied and Tsuki agreed with a hum and with a nod, before returning her attention back at the water.

Tazuna defeated by her words, left them in peace and instead he returned back to his work.

* * *

Not too much later, a worker approached Tazuna and said that he could not continue because his family was in danger. Tazuna simply argued with him only to finally fire and kick him out by saying never to return. Then, he left out a sigh and turned back at the two kunoichi.

"Come on, we are leaving", he said and drew the girls attention once again.

"And where are we going?", Sakura asked.

"You want to eat dinner tonight don't you?", the bridge builder said and on cue Tsuki's stomach started complaining.

The pre-teen quickly landed on her feet and avoided eye contact with either of them while a tiny blush was visible at her cheeks.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!", she said and quickly took the lead, hoping to get away from the embarrassing situation her stomach had gotten her into.

* * *

The trio entered a small shop with fruits and vegetables but had almost nothing on its selves. The business was not going well and there were very little products, merely enough to feed two families at most. Tsuki left out a sigh and looked around with a slightly sad look.

She could guess why the place was like that as she had also noticed how the rest shops and houses, that they passed by, were. Suddenly, with her tip of her eye she noticed that a mugger was coming from behind Sakura and seconds later, he grabbed her bag.

Of course, Sakura did not let it go so easily, instead, she cursed him, before kicking him in the stomach.

 _Poor mugger,_ she thought when the thief was tossed out of the shop and straight on the wall.

Tazuna looked at the pink haired and at the unconscious thief across the road with an open mouth.

"You are not like the girls of this town. They usually do not defend themselves", he said.

"Well, they should", Sakura, replied as they exited the shop, their hands full with shopping bags.

"I agree with her. Everyone, especially young girls and women in general, should learn how to defend themselves", Tsuki said.

After that, the trio continued their way in the almost now deserted streets when a young, skinny boy grabbed Sakura shirt.

"Listen to me you b-", Sakura yelled, but stopped when she noticed that it was a harmless boy and not someone else who tried to rob her.

"Please madam. Give me some food", the boy begged.

Tsuki quickly knelt by his side and with her free hand; she grabbed some money and sweets from her pocket before giving them at the young boy. Sakura did the same and after a silent 'thank you' along with a small bow, the young skinny boy left running.

Tsuki watched him until he took a turn in an alley and disappeared from her site, her eyes clouded with emotions that were fighting to come to the surface. Shaking her head, she left out a sigh; stood up and continue walking without saying any other word. Tazuna and Sakura exchanged looks before both shrugged their shoulders and follow. little did they know, that Tsuki was boiling with anger as she turned her hands into a fist and let her nails dug in her skin and draw blood. She knew exactly that Gato was responsible for this and after that, her anger and her need to take him down was growing by the second.

* * *

After the silent trip to Tazuna's house, the trio entered the door and each one left the bags at the small counter. Then Sakura offered to help with the cooking while Tsuki was looking around the house. The only other person was her sensei who was sitting in a chair and was reading his book.

"Something wrong Tsuki?", the copycat ninja asked, his eyes still glued to the pages of his perverted book.

"Yeah, where are the boys?"

"They are still training"

"I am going to get them. It is almost time for dinner", she said and Kakashi nodded.

 _Kakashi sensei and his pervert books_ , she thought and left out a sigh as she made her way towards the clearing where Naruto and Sasuke were training. However, when she reached the clearing, she could not find them ears twitched once again and she looked up, only to see that the boys were at the very top of the trees.

They really made it after all, she thought with a smile.

"Okay guys, come down. It's time for dinner," she yelled and soon both of them were standing next to her.

They were so drained that they both would face plant the ground, if Tsuki was not there to grab them. With Sasuke at her right and Naruto at her left, she made her way towards the house.

* * *

"We are here", she said and gave a faint smile as she opened the door and the trio entered.

"We made it", Naruto said with a smile.

"Just on time", Kakashi said not looking away from his book.

What happened to you two?", Tazuna asked as both of them were full with bruises.

"We climbed a tree"

"They were at the top, when I found them." Tsuki said with a proud smile.

"Good, now we move on. Starting tomorrow, you both are Tazuna's bodyguard", their sensei said.

"Aright!", Naruto cheered and made him, Sasuke and Tsuki to fall on the floor.

"You are such a loser", Sauske complained as Sakura helped him to sit while Tsuki did the same with Naruto.

They all laughed before each one took their places, like the day before, at the table and start eating. No one was saying a word and a nice silence was between them. When everyone had finished eating and had left their empty bowls and plates empty, Tazuna cleared his throat before speaking.

"A few more days and the bridge will be finished. I have to thank you for that!", he said and Tsuki along with Naruto smiled.

"You have done a great job but you still have to be careful", Tsunami said as she started picking the dished.

"Let me help", Tsuki said as she stood up.

"Thank you", Tsunami said as she gave the girl the dishes to wash them.

"I have been meaning to ask you this but I did not have the chance until now. Why did you stay and protected me even after you found out that I lied to bring you here?", Tazuna asked and looked at Kakashi.

"Those who stay away from the path of justice have no courage but under the wing of a strong leader the cowardness cannot survive", he said and both Tazuna and Tsunami were looking at him confused. "That was a quote from the first Hokage"

"But why?", Inari said as tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"What did u say?", Naruto asked.

"All this stupid training is just a waste of time!", Inari shouted as he stood up and slammed his hand on the table. "Gato has a whole army, they will beat you down and they will destroy you! These cool things you all say, they do not mean anything! No matter what you do the strong always win and the weak always lose!"

"Just speak of yourself, it won't be like that for me got that!. Why won't you be quiet?!"

"Just looking at you makes me sick! You do not know anything about this country, you are just bidding in! You are always laughing and playing around, you just do not know what is feels to suffer and be treated like dirt!", Inari said.

"Listen to yourself whining and complaining like some sorry little victim! You can whimper all day for all I care! You are nothing but a coward!"

"Naruto, you went too far!", Sakura scolded him.

Naruto did not say anything; instead, he just stood and left the kitchen.

"Shut up Sakura, you know she is right!", Tsuki suddenly snapped as she washed the last dish.

"What?!"

"I said shut up! He is right and you better listen well Inari! You may think you know us but you are dead wrong. We know the feel and mostly Naruto! In the world, you will come face to face with different challenges and if you are going to just stand there and cry while complaining how your life is unfair, well listen to this… Life is unfair! Therefore, stop whining and for once in your life stand your height and do something instead accusing the people who want to help you!", she shouted before also storming out.

Everyone was watching with wide eyes. No one had seen Tsuki that angry but the reason no one said a word was because they knew that she was right. She and Naruto were right and unlike them, they were not afraid to say it.

Suddenly Inari left the room, tears rolling down his cheeks. Kakashi left out a sigh and stood up.

"Where are you going sensei?", Sakura asked.

"I am going to find Inari. There are some things I need to speak with him", he replied.

* * *

Finally, the jounin found him sitting at the shore, looking at the water with sad eyes.

"Can I talk to you?", Kakashi asked as he sat next to him. "Naruto and Tsuki can be a little harsh from time to time, but they do not hate you. Your grandfather told us what happened to your father. You probably do not know this, but Naruto grew up without a father, and Tsuki never met hers. Actually, Naruto never met his parents and Tsuki lost her mother when she was only 4. As for Naruto, he did not have a single friend in our village except Tsuki, who came just a few days before graduating. And the same goes for her, as a new girl she did not exactly made friends from the first day. Still, I had never seen both of them cry, sulk or give up. Naruto always is eager to jump in and Tsuki is ready to do everything in order to protect the ones she cares. Naruto wants to be respected and Tsuki wants to help bring peace and happiness to this gloomy word. That is their dream. My guess is, they got tired of crying and decided to do something about that. Even though they are young and still learning, they know what it means to be strong like your father did. I think they know better, than any of us what you are going through. What they both told you, they probably told themselves a thousand times" he finished and stood up.

The jounin looked at the young boy one more time, before he walked back inside the house but not before looking at the roof, where a thinking Tsuki had listened to everything. He gave her a smile behind his mask before he entered the house and leave the young wolf girl with her own thoughts.

* * *

Morning came and Team 7 had to escort Tazuna back at the bridge. Naruto would stay behind to sleep as he had exhausted himself yesterday.

"Okay, I will leave Naruto to you", Kakashi said to Tsunami. "He pushed his body to the limits, overdoing it as usual, so he might not be able to move at all"

"What about you? You are still recovering yourself", Tsunami told him.

"Why? Do I look wobbly? I will be okay"

"Come on, let's go", Tazuna said as the five of them took the way for the bridge.

Tsuki left out a sigh, not liking that she was leaving her friend behind but they had no other choice. She knew that he would be angry when he would wake up but he would calm down eventually.

* * *

Continuing their way towards the bridge, Tsuki's attention went to the nature around her. The sun was shining and it was a nice day, perfect to explore the forest and see all the new species she had never met as they were existing only in that terrain and weather.

She hoped that until the bridge would be over, she would have mastered the water walking technique and had some time to explore around. It was that being in the nature, was reminding her the times she was living with the pack and happy memories were coming to her.

"What's going on? What happened?", Tazuna's worried voice snapped the young girl from her gazing and when she looked at the front, she paled.

They had arrived at the bridge but all the builder and workers were lying on the ground, all seriously wounded but alive.

Tsuki quickly ran to the one closest to her and tried to help him but the worker grabbed her hand and pulled her closer.

"D-demon… h-he is coming", he whispered in her ear just before he lost consciousness.

On cue, a mist appeared from nowhere and her sensitive nose caught the smell of Zabuza and that tracker from before. She quickly jumped and landed between Sasuke and Sakura, kunai at her hand.

"Sasuke! Sakura! Tsuki! they are coming", Kakashi warned them.

"Say Kakashi sensei, This is his… hidden mist jutsu right?", Sakura asked.

However, Kakashi did not answer. Instead, he continued looking in front of them as a voice echoed through the mist.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Kakashi… I see you have those brats with you as always. He is still trembling. Poor thing"

Everyone quickly turned their heads and looked at Sasuke, who was indeed trembling. However, he did not seem to be frightened the opposite actually. A gasp escaped from Sakura's lips and a growl from Tsuki's as clones of Zabuza suddenly surrounded them.

"I am trembling… with excitement", Sasuke said.

"Go Sasuke!", Kakashi said and in a flash, Sasuke sliced in half all the clones.

"Oh those brat have gotten a little better", Zabuza said as he stepped out of the mist, a young boy next to him.

Tsuki left out another growl and her ear stuck at her skull while her tail stayed still and raised as she recognized the boy from their first encounter with Zabuza.

"Well well, it seems my prediction was right on the money. However you look at him, he must be a comrade of Zabuza", Kakashi said.

"With this bad acting… I hate brats who think they are cool", Sasuke said.

"Sasuke, you are so cool", Sakura started to fan girl once again and caused Tsuki to roll her eyes.

Suddenly, the masked boy charged and threw some senbone needles that Sasuke quickly deflected with his kunai. the two started to attack and deliver blows to each other.

"Sakura, Tsuki, surround Tazuna and do not let him alone. Sasuke can handle this on his own", Kakashi said and the two girls did as they were told.

The fight between Sasuke and the masked boy continued, both of them moving at an incredible speed. Suddenly, the masked boy blocked Sasuke's attack with his one hand and with the other, started to do hand signs.

Kakashi and Tsuki' eyes widen and looked at the young boy stunned.

 _Impossible_ , they both thought.

"A thousand needles of death", the masked boy said and the water around them started to float into the air.

Then, it froze and almost every drop took the shape of a needle. Sasuke however smirked and when the needles were sent at him, he jumped high in the air. The masked boy did the same but gasped when Sasuke appeared behind him.

"You know you are quit stupid, from here on… you will only deflect my attack!", the young Uchiha said as the two boys landed on the bridge.

Sasuke attacked with his kunai but the masked boy's needles blocked it. Then, he used his free hand to throw another kunai, which caused the mysterious boy to duck in order to avoid it. Sasuke only smirked as he grabbed the chance and kicked him at the head, sending him flying back at Zabuza.

"It seems that I am faster than you", he said, the smirk never leaving his face.

"I can't have you mocking my team and calling them brats… he may not look like it but Sasuke is the number one rookie of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Sakura is the sharpest and Tsuki is the most loyal. Last but not least, our number one knuckleheaded ninja Naruto Uzumaki", Kakashi said with proud in his voice.

However, Zabuza started to chuckle and Tsuki's eyes widen as the masked boy had finished doing hand signs. The water around Sasuke started to take the form of endless mirrors and the masked boy entered one of them.

"Damn it", Kakashi said as both he and Tsuki ran to help Sasuke.

"I am your opponent, aren't I? Since that jutsu has appeared, he is done for", Zabuza said as he stood in front of the jounin, blocking his way.

"But not mine!", Tsuki shouted as she stated to ran at all 4.

Just a few feet away, she fall on her side and slipped right beneath Kakashi and Zabuza's leg before quickly standing up and entering the dome of mirrors just in time.

"What the…", Zabuza and Kakashi exclaimed, shocked at her speed and action.

"Tsuki? What are you doing here Dobe?", Sasuke asked, shocked but at the same time angry.

"I came to help. No matter how strong you are, you stand no chance here if you are all alone", she said and a small smile appeared on his face.

"How touching, however since you entered. There is no escape", the masked boy said as he suddenly appeared on all the mirrors.


	12. Chapter 9

_Previously_ _:_

 _"I can't have you mocking my team and calling them brats… he may not look like it but Sasuke is the number one rookie of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Sakura is the sharpest and Tsuki is the most loyal. Last but not least, our number one knuckleheaded ninja Naruto Uzumaki", Kakashi said with proud in his voice._

 _However, Zabuza started to chuckle and Tsuki's eyes widen as the masked boy had finished doing hand signs. The water around Sasuke started to take the form of endless mirrors and the masked boy entered one of them._

 _"Damn it", Kakashi said as both he and Tsuki ran to help Sasuke._

 _"I am your opponent, aren't I? Since that jutsu has appeared, he is done for", Zabuza said as he stood in front of the jounin, blocking his way._

 _"But not mine!", Tsuki shouted as she started to ran at all 4._

 _Just a few feet away, she fell on her side and slipped right beneath Kakashi and Zabuza's leg before quickly standing up and entering the dome of mirrors just in time._

 _"What the…", Zabuza and Kakashi exclaimed, shocked at her speed and action._

 _"Tsuki? What are you doing here Dobe?", Sasuke asked, shocked but at the same time angry._

 _"I came to help. No matter how strong you are, you stand no chance here if you are all alone", she said and a small smile appeared on his face._

 _"How touching, however since you entered. There is no escape", the masked boy said as he suddenly appeared on all the mirrors._

* * *

"Which one is the real one?", Tsuki wondered as they both stood back to back, ready to defend each other.

"I have no idea", he replied.

Suddenly, their attention went to Sakura who threw a kunai towards the dome of ice mirrors. However, the masked boy emerged from one of them and caught the kunai with ease.

However, he didn't see (none did actually) two shuriken that smacked him at the head and caused him to fall to the ground; face first. A second later a smoke bomb was thrown and the gas covered the empty space between the rogue ninja and Team 7. Tsuki instantly smiled as her sensitive nose caught the scent of a specific individual.

"The number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja…Naruto Uzumaki is finally here", a loud voice echoed and broke the dead silence as the smoke cleared and exposed none other than Naruto with a determined look on his face. "Ha! Now that I am here everything will be alright!"

 _I don't know if this kid is simply too optimistic or too naive,_ Tsuki thought as she shook her head but kept her smile.

"Naruto!", Sakura called his name, the time being from the few and rare that she used such a happy tone and his name at the same time.

"You know how in stories the hero usually shows up the last minute and then kicks butt? Well, that is what I am going to do right now! Believe it! Alright, you are history… shadow clone jutsu!", Naruto said but before he could create clones, Zabuza threw some shuriken at him.

"Naruto move!", Kakashi yelled but the knucklehead was frozen at his spot. Suddenly, the masked boy threw some senbone needles and stopped his sensei attack.

"What are you doing Naruto? Are you crazy!?, Sakura yelled/scolded him like usual, her happiness and relief to see him long gone.

"This is a battle, not a talent show; do not let your opponent see your jutsu! A shinobi's art is a deception, always keeps the enemy guessing! Even when executing a single jutsu, one must distract their opponent attention; catch them off balance and outmanoeuvre them!", Kakashi scolded him as well the moment sakura's yells died.

"I am sorry! I was just trying to save everybody!", he apologized and caused a specific genin to facepalm and shake her head in disbelief.

"Haku, what are you doing?", Zabuza asked the boy.

"Zabuza, this boy… let me fight him in my own way please"

"So, you want me to leave this to you, is that it Haku? As usual, you are soft"

"Forgive me Zabuza", Haku said and looked at the ground. Tsuki slightly felt sorry for him.

 _What is the bad thing with being a little soft?_ she wondered as she was looking at the masked boy.

"I am warning you, one way or another I am going to rip that mask and take you down! That mask and your Boggess story, you were with Zabuza all along! You think you could get away with a stunt like that?", Naruto yelled.

"I am sorry", Haku apologized.

"Huh?"

"But as your sensei said, deceiving your opponent, catching them off guard is the art of the shinobi, please do not take it personally", he said and Tsuki looked at him with wide eyes. _Why is he apologizing, why is he explaining to Naruto all these? He is our enemy yet, he acts with kindness and fairness._ "Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, they know when they are beaten, and others do not. So be it. Let us finish our battle then, to the death", he continues as he entered once again the mirrors.

"What? Where are you going?", Naruto asked.

"It is okay Naruto. We will have our fight next", he said as he fully entered one of the mirrors.

Sasuke quickly grabbed a kunai while Tsuki tightened the grip on her own. They looked at each other for a brief second, before looking back at the mirrors.

"I am behind you!", Haku said and once again, the mirrors filled with his image.

However, unlike the before, this time each one was holding senbone needles between their fingers.

 _Are those illusions? If they are then the needles cannot hurt us right. However, what if they are not? What the heck is that jutsu anyway?,_ Tsuki wondered and her head started to ache from the confusion.

Suddenly, all the Hakus threw their needles at them.

The duo quickly tried their best to deflect the needles. Tsuki, slightly more experienced with kunai she managed to protect herself but her comrade was not that good and he collapsed on his one knee.

"Sasuke", she called his name as she quickly knelt by his side. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah", he said as he pulled some needles from his body.

"Hey! I came here to save you", Naruto's voice was heard and Tsuki's eyes widen as she looked behind only to see Naruto standing a few feet away. "Pretty nice moves huh guys?"

Different emotions clouded her heart, as she did not know what to feel. Happiness because her friend was there to help or anger because he just did the stupidest thing in his life. After a quick debate that lasted a second, she decided to follow the latter.

"Naruto you idiot, what are you doing here?", she shouted as she stood up and punched him in the head.

"Naruto you Baka, you were supposed to stay out of this thing", Sasuke yelled.

"What the heck is your problem?! You should thank me for coming here to help you!"

"You were supposed to attack from the outside. I was supposed to stay here to help Sasuke. Only, if we attacked from both sides we would be able to defeat him", Tsuki explained as she tried to control her anger from attacking the beating the hell out of him.

"Where the hell should I know that?!"

"Uh, forget it! I had enough with your mistakes", Sasuke said.

"And I have had enough with that attitude of yours!"

Tsuki only shook her head and left out a sigh. They needed to work together if they wanted to survive the next attacks and defeat their enemy but if they started fighting between them; it was all over. Yes, she was angry with him as well but right now, their lives were on the line

"I am going to destroy those mirrors once and for all", Sasuke, said as he started to make some hand signs.

"Hey what attack are you using?", Naruto asked.

"These mirrors are made from ice, so how do you destroy ice? Figure it out", he said as he sent a fireball at the mirrors.

Tsuki smiled but it soon faded away as the moment the jutsu died, they all saw that the mirrors were unharmed. Not even a single scratch was on them

"That didn't do anything!", Naruto shouted at him.

"You are going to need much more heat than that to melt this ice", Haku said and threw more needles.

"I do not think so!" Tsuki said as she quickly to make hand signs. "Lightning Style: Lightning Dome!", she shouted and slammed her hands on the ground.

A dome of electricity quickly formed around the trio and protected them from the attack. When it was over, Tsuki released the jutsu and fall on her one knee while panting heavily.

"Impressive jutsu but it exhausts you fast meaning you have not mastered it yet and you are not able to perform it many times", Haku said with a smirk behind his mask as this time through the double amount of needles.

Tsuki quickly jumped in front of Naruto while trying her best to deflect the needles. She managed to save him but a few had found their way on her arms. When the attack was over, she proceeded to pull each one off while hissing from the pain.

"Where is he? Where the needle attack coming? Are they clones. We have to find the real one, which one is it?"

"Believe me Naruto, if we knew that. We would not be in this position", Tsuki said as she pulled the last needle.

"Look into every mirror as long as you like. You will never learn the secret", Haku said.

"Oh yeah? Shadow clone jutsu"

"Naruto don't!", Sasuke and Tsuki shouted but he simply ignored them.

"You have got a hundred mirrors? Then a hundred of me will smash them all! Then we will find out where you really are!", he shouted as he along with his clones attacked.

However, all the clones were destroyed in seconds and Naruto was sent flying. Tsuki managed to catch him right on time, saving him from a hard fall and the incoming pain from the ground.

"These mirrors only reflect my image, allowing transporting myself at the speed of light. Through my eyes you appear to be moving in slow motion", Haku explained.

"A Kekkei Genkai?", Tsuki questioned.

"A what?", Naru asked.

"It is a special ability that is passing down through the bloodline of each clan. Like the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan and the byakugan of the Hyuga clan"

"Impressive, you are well informed"

"Anyway, kekkei Genkai or no, I do not care. So, I could not breaker through huh? So what? He is not going to stop me. I am not giving up and I am not going to lose here, because I have a dream and no one is going to take it away from me! Someday, I will be respected in my village that is my dream! To become the greatest Hokage!"

"It was not my desire to become a shinobi, it's painful. I do not want to kill you but if you advance, I will have no other choice. I will kill the kindness in my own heart and fully embrace and they will be no mercy, no turning back. This bridge will be the battlefield where our dreams collide. Now, I must fight for my dream just as you fight for yours, please do not blame me. I fight for someone who is precious to me. I will live and die for him so his dream can become a reality. That is my dream and for the sake of that dream, if I must, I will act as a shinobi and take your lives", Haku explained.

"We understand Haku. The person you are talking about is Zabuza right. Well, listen to this. We understand and we do not blame you. However, do not think that we are going to keep back either. Because we also have dreams that we are going to make them real", Tsuki said suddenly full of determination as she also remembered her dream.

She wanted to help those villagers, to help the small village, to take down Gato and come closer to her dream. She had to fight with teeth and claws if she wanted to win and she was ready to do it so.

"Very well then", Haku said and grabbed more needles.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu", Naruto shouted.

Around a dozen of clones appeared and they once again attacked the mirrors. However, Haku just continued throwing needles, making all the clones to disappear. Once again, Naruto was sent back but Tsuki was there to catch him. He tried repeatedly until his bodies were full of bruises and wounds from the needles.

"If I did not get him, then I will try as many times as I can!", he said as he created more clones.

He charged once again but Haku easily destroyed all of his clones and managed to slightly wound the original one. The blond knucklehead was thrown back and once again, Tsuki caught him but this time, the white-haired genin knelt by the force and the constant catching.

"How is he doing that?", Naruto wondered but he sent this clones once again.

Sasuke kicked the water from the puddle in the air and from the movements of the drops; you could see where Haku was going. Tsuki smirked and so did Sasuke but it was soon dropped as Haku sent them another wave of needles.

The three heroes were covered in scratches and needles but that did not stop them. Naruto continued attacking with his shadow clones while Sasuke was trying to hit him with his fireball and Tsuki with her shuriken.

However, Haku was fast and each time avoided the attack before sending them a new wave of needles. The trio tried repeatedly and on their 3rd try, the stood lucky.

He destroyed all the clones and managed to avoid Tsuki's kunai at the last second. At the same time, a fireball was aimed at him but this time on the direction Sasuke knew he would run. Haku managed to avoid the fireball but the end of his kimono was slightly burned just before he entered one of the mirrors.

They both smiled at victory as Naruto was sent flying right next to them.

"I was so close but I could not get him", Naru said as he managed t stand up.

"Naruto, can you do it again?", Sasuke asked.

"Huh? Of course, I can; believe it", he answered but everyone could clearly see that he was exhausted. All of them were and Haku decided to grab the change and started to move.

"Naruto, run for it!", Sasuke said as he started to make hand signs.

"Huh?"

"Get out of here and attack from the outside!"

"Naruto go! I will cover you", Tsuki said.

"You got it!", he said as he started to run towards one of the spaces between the mirrors with Tsuki close behind him.

Needles were thrown at him but Tsuki stood her ground and managed to deflect them all while her friend was running for the exit. However, Haku was faster and was not ready to let him go that easily.

"You cannot escape", he said as he punched Naruto and sent him flying on top of Tsuki.

"You think you can keep me here? Forget it!", Naruto said with determination and stubbornness as he stood up and then helped Tsuki.

Then he started running for the mirrors once again. This time, Tsuki threw a kunai at Haku, hoping to distract him but he simply deflected it with a needle before appearing in front of Naruto and this time, he kicked him.

The blond hyperactive knucklehead was sent flying and rolled a few times before stopping right next to Sasuke.

"I couldn't get past him", Naruto said along with a groan as Tsuki helped him to stand up.

That was good", Sasuke said.

"It was a good try Naruto", Tsuki said and patted him on the back.

"One more time!", Sasuke said

"Yeah!, Naruto said before he started running with Tsuki close behind him.

However, they both stopped as they heard Sasuke yelling and when they turned, they saw him at the ground with his body full of needles.

"Sasuke!", they both shouted as Haku grabbed the chance to attack and sent them a tsunami of needles while they had their guards down and were in a small shock state due to seeing their comrade like this.

* * *

A female scream was heard and caused our three heroes to open their eyes. They were all on the ground; their bodies full of needles and blood was coming from their wounds.

"Sakura!", Tsuki suddenly called her name as her eyes widen. She tried her best to stand up, only to barely be able to stand on all four.

"She is trouble", Naruto said as he pushed his body to the limits and was the first one to stand. "I will do it. I will bust out of here", he suddenly said as he started to run towards one of the exits.

"You have exhausted my patience", Haku said as he tried to block him.

However, Naruto just used his head to eject himself towards another direction. Tsuki smiled but she quickly dropped it as Haku sent another wave of needles.

"Naruto!", she shouted as she pushed herself and despite the pain, she ran towards her friend and used her body to catch him.

Naruto landed on her and they both rolled a few times. Tsuki bit her bottom lip as the needles on her body were pushed deeper into her skin.

"Your chances of escaping my dome of mirrors are zero", Haku said as Sasuke managed to walk towards the duo.

"Naruto, are you able to get up?", he asked as Tsuki sat on her knees and looked at her barely conscious friend.

"No, he must try and not move a lot. He not fully recovered from yesterday's training", Tsuki argued as she pulled some needles from his body.

"My eyes have adjusted to his movements", Sasuke stated and Tsuki smirked as he noticed the change in his eyes. They were red with a black comatose in them.

"Sasuke, you unlocked your Sharingan!", she said and gave him a smile of proudness and relief.

"Looking for a counterattack? I will save you the trouble", Haku said as he threw needles at Sasuke.  
However, the young Uchiha was ready.

He grabbed a needle from the ground and managed to deflect them all. Haku simply grabbed more needles, moved into different mirrors and started throwing.

Tsuki pushed herself off the ground, grabbed a kunai and assisted Sasuke in keeping Naruto and themselves safe.

"Get up loser. We have to team up", Sasuke told Naruto, his eyes never leaving Haku.

"I know what we have to do, believe it Sasuke!", the knucklehead said as he managed to stand up.

Suddenly, Haku appeared on all the mirrors and started throwing countless needles. Sasuke and Tsuki surprisingly were a good team and managed to deflect them all, even those that were going for Naruto. Then, Haku disappeared into thin air.

 _Where is he?_ the white-haired genin asked herself as she tried to predict his next attack.

"He disappeared! Where did he go? How can he just vanish?", Sasuke wondered.

"I have no idea but whatever happens, do not let your guard down", Tsuki said,

"Naruto, you better not pass out again. We cannot continue protecting you"

"Well then, don't! I never asked for your help", the said ninja argued and then he passed out.

"And he is out", Tsuki stated as she deadpanned before looking at her friend with worry.

"You can't revive him, he had reached his limits", Haku said, angering both of them. Sasuke acted on impulse, grabbed a needle from the ground and threw it at him. However, he missed. "Impressive, you have excellent moves. You are very skilful but you have also reached your limits", he continued and threw more needles.

They both jumped back and managed to avoid them in seconds. However, Haku had targeted Sasuke and was sending him waves and waves, one after the others. Every time, Sasuke was able to dodge them but barely. On his face, the exhaustion was visible.

Suddenly, Haku appeared on a mirror behind Sasuke and aimed for his neck. Tsuki acted on impulse and she pushed Sasuke out of the way and took the attack for him. She fell on her knees and she started to pant heavily while blood started to come from her new wounds.

"Tsuki", Sasuke called her name, worry hearable in his voice.

"I am *pant* okay", she replied and tried to stand, only to fail miserably and end up lying on her stomach.

* * *

Haku sent needles towards the injured white-haired genin and this time, as she was in no position to deflect them. However, Sasuke appeared in front of her and with his kunai, deflected them all.

"Are you okay Dobe?", Sasuke said while looking over his shoulder. Tsuki gave him a faint smile along with a thankful look.

"How touching. You really do care about your comrades, don't you?", Haku said and threw his needles.

What happened next was as if it was in slow motion.

The needles were going towards Naruto. Tsuki, with all the strength she could muster, she grabbed two kunai and aimed for Haku's head. She managed to land a hit and made him face plant the ground.

However, the needles were still going for the unconscious Naruto and before she could move or do anything, Sasuke appeared in front of him but this time, he did not have the time to deflect them and so, he used his body as a shield and protected Naruto from the blow.

"No!", Tsuki shouted as she stood up and ran towards them despite the physical pain as the one in her heart aced the most.

"You always… get in the way Naruto, it never fails", he said

"Sasuke, you beat him!", Naruto said with a smile, thinking that he had thrown the kunai, but soon faded as he noticed the state his comrade was in.

"Ugh, you should see the look… on your face… ugh, you lo-look like a total loser"

"Why? Why did you… save me? Why did you do it?"

"I do not know… I just did. You … I hate you!"

"Then why did you protect me? It does not make sense", Naru said as he stood up. "I did not ask for this! I did not ask you to save me!"

"I do not know… my body moved… there was no time to think… Loser", Sasuke said and started to fall.

"Sasuke!", both Naruto and Tsuki shouted as Tsuki quickly knelt and caught her injured comrade just on time.

"He-he is still out there… my brother. I-I promised myself to stay alive until I killed him… Naruto… do not let … your dream die", he said and closed his eyes.

"No!", Tsuki shouted as she placed his head on her knees and held his cold face. "Do not dare to die on me Teme! Don't you dare!", she shouted as tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheeks before landing on his cold face.

 _He found… he found the strength he did not realize he had. Why? Because of a certain person that was precious to him. To save that person, he rushed knowing it was a trap. He was a true ninja, worthy of honour,_ Haku thought as Naruto also started to cry for the loss of his teammate.

"Is this a first time you have seen a friend dying in battle?", Haku asked as he entered one of the mirrors. "This is part of being a ninja"

"Shut your mouth!", Tsuki shouted as she let out a growl before glaring at the masked Haku.

"He dies worthy of honour, he is gone and there is nothing you can do about it", he said as he grabbed more needles and threw them at Naruto.

The blond genin turned his head and with watered eyes, he waited for the needles to strike. However, a figure stood in front of him and took the hit. His blue eyes widen as the figure was none other than Tsuki who after the attack, collapsed on her stomach.

"Naruto…", she called his name as the said ninja rushed to her side.

"No, not you!", he shouted, more tears rolling down his cheeks.

Tsuki gave him a faint smile before closing her eyes. Her face paled and the smile fainted from it as her body turned cold.

"She also died protecting her comrade. She cared about you and that drove her to her death", Haku said.

"Shut Up!", Naruto shouted at him. "I hated you to Sasuke and yet… and you Tsuki… we just became friends… you cant…You will pay for this!", he shouted the last part as red chakra started to appear around him. "I am going to kill you!", he shouted once again as the red chakra started to cover him.

His once blue eyes turned red with black slits. His whiskers became more visible; his fangs sharper and his claws bigger. A deadly aura had surrounded him and it was sensible to everyone outside.

 _What is this power?,_ Haku wondered as he threw needles but the chakra stopped them.

The needles that were already on his skin were quickly pulled off and his wounds started to heal at an inhuman speed. He glared at Haku and left out an inhuman growl as the chakra took the head of the fox.

His red fox eyes adverted to Sasuke and Tsuki's body before glaring at Haku. The chakra around his expanded and started to destroy all the mirrors. Haku's eyes widen behind his mask as Naruto charged and smashed the mirror he was in. He quickly jumped out of it but Naruto grabbed him from his kimono and punched him in the head. He was sent flying outside of the dome that was now being destroyed by the red chakra. Haku managed to stand up and exposed that his mask had broke in two from the force of Naruto's hit.

Seeing him standing there, Naruto let out another growl and charged his fist ready. Haku did not make any move but instead, he waited for the hit that would finish him off. To his and Naruto's surprise, someone appeared between them and grabbed Naruto's fist.


	13. Chapter 10

**[A/N[ - Heyo my dear and lovely readers. Your favourite author is back *crickets* I know I have been out for long but university keeps me so busy. Honestly, who invented it?**  
 **However, I did find some time and I already uploaded two chapters at my other Naruto story "The Bridge" and I will grace you with two chapters here as well. I do not give promises that I am fully back but I will try my best to upload a little more often.**

 **Hope you enjoy them and please check my profile for my latest story: A second chance in love (phantom of the opera).**

 **Kit-Kat for you, thank you so much for your review and I apologize for being so late... hehe... yes she might be a little Mary Sue now but only due to her being a little more trained than the rest. However, as the story progresses I have made sure to explain and show exactly why and show that she is not perfect by birth.**

 **Do not forget to R &R!**

* * *

"Shut Up!", Naruto shouted at him. "I hated you to Sasuke and yet… and you Tsuki… we just became friends… you cant…You will pay for this!", he shouted the last part as red chakra started to appear around him. "I am going to kill you!", he shouted once again as the red chakra started to cover him.

His once blue eyes turned red with black slits. His whiskers became more visible; his fangs sharper and his claws bigger. A deadly aura had surrounded him and it was sensible to everyone outside.

What is this power?, Haku wondered as he threw needles but the chakra stopped them.

The needles that were already on his skin were quickly pulled off and his wounds started to heal at an inhuman speed. He glared at Haku and left out an inhuman growl as the chakra took the head of the fox.

His red fox eyes adverted to Sasuke and Tsuki's body before glaring at Haku. The chakra around his expanded and started to destroy all the mirrors. Haku's eyes widen behind his mask as Naruto charged and smashed the mirror he was in. He quickly jumped out of it but Naruto grabbed him from his kimono and punched him in the head. He was sent flying outside of the dome that was now being destroyed by the red chakra. Haku managed to stand up and exposed that his mask had broke in two from the force of Naruto's hit.

Seeing him standing there, Naruto let out another growl and charged his fist ready. Haku did not make any move but instead, he waited for the hit that would finish him off. To his and Naruto's surprise, someone appeared between them and grabbed Naruto's fist.

* * *

Between them was standing a living and injured Tsuki. Her eyes emotionless as they did not belong to her. She looked deep into Naruto's red fox ones as if she was staring at his tortured soul.

"Stop it", she said in a slightly older and mothered tone.

The chakra around Naruto quickly died as if following her command and his featured returned to normal. He was ready to collapse at the front due to the sudden exustion as the sheer power abandon him but Tsuki grabbed him and kept him stable.

"It's okay", she said in her normal voice as she hugged Naruto closely.

Naruto quickly hugged back and the two of them stayed like that for a moment but Naruto's eyes looked at Haku, whose mask had fallen and his face was visible.

"You! You are the boy from the forest!", he said as he let go of Tsuki.

The white-haired genin turned and looked at Haku, only to mentally have her jaw drop. Haku's face was more of a girl's in appearance but his expression and his eyes were soft and caring. She couldn't actually believe that he was a murderer, who worked for Zabuza and killed with needles. However, she knew better than to let the appearance of someone trick her.

"Why did you not strike?", Haku asked.

"Huh?"

"I killed an important friend of yours, why did you not kill me?", Haku asked but only received a punch on the stomach by Naruto. "Were that energy of yours went?, You can't kill me like that. Some of you have the wrong idea. They fail to kill their enemy, they show mercy instead. Do you know the feeling of leaving without a dream? Of knowing that you are not needed anymore?"

"What do you say?", Naruto asked confused.

"Zabuza doesn't need a weak ninja like me. You stole my reason to exist. So please, kill me", he said and placed Naruto's fist in front of his face.

"Why do you help this guy? He is paid for killing people and doing evil things. Don't you have anyone else who is important to you?"  
"I had people who were important to me. My parent's. I was born in the village hidden in the water, which was mostly covered with snow all the time. We had not much. Only a farm. We were very poor but my parents were happy with the little things we had. I was happy too. They were really good parents"

"What happened?", Tsuki asked.

"This blood. My father killed my mother and then he tried to kill me"

"What?", Naruto asked confused.

"My village had experienced many civil wars and those who possessed the Bloodline Limit were hated"

"The bloodline limit?"

"It is passed from a parent to their child or a grandparent to their grandchild. A special technique runs throughout the family. Due to these special abilities, the families who were possessed with it were used in many disputes and for that reason, everyone, even the country itself were feared them. They were called the bringers of disaster and war. After the wars, these families lived while hiding their power, because only death was waiting for them if they ever were revealed. Your friend over there probably had a tough time too. Those who possess this ability were feared. My mother possessed ability like that and she passed it on me. She had married my father without telling him. She was hoping to leave an ordinary life but she was not that lucky. My father later learnt her little secret and was very pissed off. When my shock had passed, I then had already killed my father. I was all alone. I had to take care of myself. That is the worst feeling I ever felt. The feeling that you are not wanted for this world", Haku explained and looked down while Naruto and Tsuki were speechless.

Haku…, Tsuki thought, now feeling sorry for the boy.

"When I met you at the woods that day you told me something. You told me that you wanted to become number one in your village and make everyone recognize you. When someone who cares about you sincerely appears, that person becomes the most important thing you have. Zabuza knew who I was and not only accepted me but raised me too. He wanted the ability that everyone else feared and hated. I was happy again. I am sorry Zabuza. I couldn't be the perfect weapon you wished", Haku muttered the last part and moved towards Naruto.  
"Please Naruto. Kill me", he said but Naruto did not move, "Why are you hesitating?"

"I do not believe that stupid story. Tool, weapon, you call that important", Naruto yelled at Haku. "How can you be ok with that?"

"Zabuza needed me. He needed my help. Now I have lost the person that made me 'me'. Zabuza will no longer need me. That is why I am asking you and the girl. Please hurry"  
"No! Don't talk like that. You do not deserve to die just because you failed. Failing is part of life, as much as I feel your pain, I cannot", Tsuki explained and Haku looked at her with wide eyes.

Then, he turned his attention at Naruto, who had a kunai at his hand but he was hesitating. Finally, he took a deep breath and was ready to stab Haku when he grabbed his hand.

"Huh?", Tuski exclaimed confused at his act and also at the sudden will to live even though she would find out any moment now.

"I am sorry Naruto. I just can't die yet", he said and quickly made hand signs and teleported away from them.  
They searched for him and spotted him running towards Zabuza, who ninja hounds were holding him still while Kakashi was running to him with a hand full of electricity.

They both were ready to move and do something but before they could make a step, Haku appeared In front of Zabuza and took the hit.

"My future is death. Hm? You are wrong once more Kakashi", Zabuza said at the shocked Kakashi. "Splendid Haku", he said as the almost dead young ninja grabbed Kakashi's hand, preventing him from moving.

The ex-swordsman smirked as he raised his sword, ready to slice in two both Kakashi and Haku. However, the jounin was not going to let that happen as he quickly grabbed Haku's body, bride style and jumped away just in time as the giant sword touched the ground.

"You are slow when you carry his body Kakashi", Zabuza commented and started to laugh.

The jounin did not say anything, instead, he lied Haku down and with his gloved hand, he closed the young's boy eyes.

At the same time, the duo was looking at him frozen but each with different emotions. Naruto was shocked and at the same time surprised with a slight sadness visible on his blue eyes.

Tsuki, on the other hand, was furious. She was shaking from anger and once again, her hands were into fists and dug her nails into her skin, drowning blood.

"Naruto? Tsuki? Where is Sasuke?", the worried voice of Sakura was heard. The fog had already dissolved and she was still standing in front of Tazuna with a kunai in her hands.

Naruto suddenly started crying and Sakura did too as she noticed Sasuke's body on the ground. A few tears escaped Tsuki eyes as she started to calm down but she wiped them with the back of her palm. Then, she turned her attention back at the battle as Kakashi and Zabuza were locked in a taijutsu battle.

However, this time, her sensei had the upper hand. He had managed to sabotage each of his hands and caused a faint smile to appear on Tsuki's face. Zabuza's giant swords fall to the ground and tried to catch his breath. Kakashi had managed to wound him badly and in the next seconds, he was behind him, kunai at his neck.  
"Surrender. You cannot win", he said but suddenly, claps echoed and interrupted everyone from their own emotional state as their eyes landed on the source of the clapping.

"You disappointed me Zabuza", a voice was heard as the clapping stopped and our heroes saw an army of assassins was now a few meters in front of them and a very short man was standing in the middle.

"Gato? Why are you here? Why are they here?, Zabuza asked confused the short man, confused.

"There were some changes on our 'plan'. I am sorry to tell you Zabuza, but you are going to die here"

"WHAT?!"

"If I had rent an official ninja, it would have cost me a fortune. That is why I chose a rogue ninja. That is why I chose you. If you had managed to kill each other, you would have saved me much time and money but you did not. You failed Zabuza. Then, you call yourself the demon of the hidden mist. To me you are just a cute devil", Gato mocked him. Naruto's eyes widen while Gato's army was laughing.

"Kakashi I am sorry. Since Gato does not need me, I have no need to kill Tazuna. I have lost my reason to fight", Zabuza said and Kakashi left him free.

"Oh yes, I own this guy favour for almost breaking my hand before", Gato said and kicked Haku on the face. He continued kicking him and Tsuki's blood started to boil. She was ready to charge at him when he spoke once again.

"Kill them all", he said as he finished kicking Haku.

"Bastard!, What the hell did you say? And how dare to hit Haku?", Tsuki yelled as she and Naruto were ready to charge.

"Stop. Do not move carelessly", Kakashi told them and the duo stayed back.

"Why don't you say something? Wasn't he important to you?", Naruto yelled at Zabuza.

"Shut up kid. He is already dead"

"You really don't care about what he did? You were together all this time"

"I used him. Like Gato used me. As I said before, ninja's are just tools. I wanted his ability, not him"

"Do you really mean it?"

"Stop it Naruto. We are not fighting him anymore", Kakashi said and tried to grab Naruto's shoulder but he slapped his hand.

"Shut Up! He is still my enemy", Naruto yelled and pointed with the kunai at Zabuza. "He really liked you. He really liked you, and you do not care? Don't you really think about him the same way? He... he sacrificed his life for you", Naruto said with tears in his eyes.

"He couldn't even see his own dream", Zabuza replied.

"Dying as a tool... is just... too painful", Naruto said with tears rolling his cheeks and his head down.

Tsuki quickly embraced her friend into a hug, knowing exactly what he was meaning and feeling the same.

"Kid...", Zabuza said and caused everyone to look at him, only to see that he was crying. "You talk a lot. Haku not only did put his life on the line for me, but he also hurt his heart for you people. I know that he was too kind. I am glad that we were able to fight you guys in our last battle", He said with tears on his eyes. He tried and ripped the bandage from his mouth. "You were right, kid, Ninja's are humans too. They cannot become a tool without emotions. I lose. Now, throw me your kunai"  
Naruto wiped the tears and did as he was told. Zabuza caught it in midair with his mouth and started running towards Gato, who as a coward run to hide in the behind his army. He was passing through them while slicing some.

Most of them were frozen in fear. He was fighting like a real animal. Spears and swords were stuck on his back but he did not stop. He finally reached Gato but stopped as more of his men stabbed him.

"If you really want to go, where your friend has gone, so badly, then you should", Gato said.

"Unfortunately, I have no intention to go where Haku went. You are coming to hell with me. The demon of the mist can become a real devil if he goes back to hell. We will see over there if I am cute or not", Zabuza said and Gato stabbed him in the chest multiple times.

He smirked, but soon faded as Zabuza, who after that collapsed, pushed him off the bridge. A gasp escaped Tsuki's lips when Zabuza stoop up again. He glared at what was left from Gato's army who frozen in fear, backed away.  
He was now walking towards Haku's lifeless body but after a few steps, he collapsed again.

"I am sorry Haku and thank you for everything", he said and tried to move closer to his body. Naruto looked away.

"Don't look away. It's the end of a man who lived desperately", Kakashi told Naruto. He was now standing behind him with his hands on his shoulder. "Naruto! Tsuki! Sensei!", Sakura shouted. "Sasuke is alive", she said and with that, everyone looked at her.  
"What?", Naruto said with hope on his eyes as he and Tsuki ran towards Sasuke who was trying to stand up.

"Don't you ever scare me like that Teme!", Tsuki said as she embraced Sasuke in a tight hug.

A faint blush appeared on his cheeks but he quickly covered it before pushing Tsuki away, who had a few tears of joy.

"Don't tell me that you are going to start crying Dobe. We already have a crying baby at the team", he said and looked at Naruto.

"Hey!", the said ninja suddenly shouted and Tsuki chuckled.

"Looks like you guys are feeling safe", a man from what was left of Gato's army said.

"Damn you! You killed our source of revenue"

"Now, we have to attack the town and steal everything is valuable"

"Yeah!", they all yelled together.

"That's not good", Kakashi said.

"Sensei, don't you have any trick that can kill them all at once?", Naruto asked.

"No, I have used too much chakra"

"Let's go", one of them shouted as they started walking towards the group, weapons raised.

Suddenly, an arrow landed a little in front of them, causing them to stop dead in their tracks. The team looked behind them, only to see that it was Inari and the rest of the villagers.

"No one mess with our village", they all yelled.

"Inari!", Naruto and Tsuki said with excitement.

"Heroes are always arriving late", he said with a big goofy grin.

"Alright, count me in!", Naruto said and 5 more Naruto's appeared.

"I can still do that". Shadow Clone Jutsu, Kakashi style", the copycat ninja said and caused Akira to chuckle but quickly stop when she saw around 15 more of him.

"Me too!", Tsuki exclaimed as she placed her hand on the seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu, Tsuki style", she said and created 10 clones.

"Get them!", the villagers shouted and they all charged at the group of Assassins who had now a scared expression on their faces.

* * *

The battle did not last long as one by one, the paid assassins were either killed or simply jumped off the bridge and started swimming at the sore with hope to get away.  
The villagers then started to enjoy their victory. Tsuki's attention went to Zabuza, who had a faint smirk on his face as he had seen everything. With his eyes, he motioned for her to grab Kakashi's attention. With a nod, the genin elbowed her teacher at the ribs only for him to look at her with a nasty glare.

"Kakashi... I have a favour... to ask", Zabuza said and the Jounin's attention went to the almost dead rogue.

"What is it?", he asked.

"Take me... to him", Zabuza said and he agreed with a nod. Then, he curried him bride style before letting him down gently, right next to Haku. "Thank you Kakashi", he said and looked at Haku." I will now, die next to you. I hope I can go to the place you went", he said and tried to move his injured hand.

He managed to move it enough to touch Haku's hair. Naruto started to cry and Tsuki once again embraced him in a hug while at the same time, rubbing circles on his back in order to calm him down.

Suddenly, two sparks of sunlight made their way through the clouds and lighted both Haku and Zabuza.  
Naruto smiled again and looked at his white-haired friend, who gave him a caring smile and wiped some stray tears from his beautiful blue eyes.

Then snow was staring falling and Tsuki could not help but smile.

It seems that everyone is happy and things will start getting better, she thought.

* * *

A few weeks later, the bridge was finally complete and the Land of waves was once again free. During that time, Team 7 built a nice grave for Haku and Zabuza and also found time to heal properly rest and of course train some more.

Finally, after 4 weeks we are going home, Tsuki thought, as they were now at the bridge, ready to say the final goodbyes and leave.

"The bridge is finally complete. Thanks to you" Tazuna said.

"Now, now, old man. We are going to come to visit you again", Naruto, said.

"Do you promise?", Inari asked as he was trying to hold back his tears.

"Inari, you are going to be lonely, aren't you? You can cry you know", Naruto told him.

"I am not going to cry. You can cry too", Inari said and with that, they turned their backs and made their way back to the village, while Inari and Naruto started to cry.

"You know, I have decided something. I do not like the idea of the ninja being a tool. I am going to follow my own way of becoming a ninja. I am going to run down the path and I will regret nothing", Naruto yelled and pumped his fist in the air.

"Then don't Naruto. Never regret that decision", Tsuki said and pecked him on the cheek before raising her pace and walked at the very front of the group, a happy expression on her face.

At the same time, Naruto stopped at his trucks, a blush on his cheeks. He touched the place Tsuki had kissed him and started to giggle like a little girl.

Sasuke left out a silent growl as he punched the love strike blond at the head and caused him to face plant the grass.

"What happened?", Tsuki asked as she heard Naruto groan and she turned, only to see him kissing the ground and a very angry Sasuke passing next to her.

"Hn", was his only reply, as he continued walking, not caring if his team was following.

Tsuki blinked in confusion but continued walking when she saw that her friend was aright and that started to catch up with her. She gave him a smile before turning her attention at her surroundings, knowing that she would miss it.  
Kakashi mentally chuckled and messed with Tsuki's hair, earning an annoyed look from her as she pushed his hand aside.

With a smirk behind his mask, Kakashi patted her on the head before grabbing his book while trying to ignore the stares that were coming from both boys of the group.


	14. Chapter 11

Two days had passed since Team 7 had returned from the Land of Waves and it was about time, to return to their usual D-rank Missions. Right now, they were pulling weeds from an old woman's garden.

Tsuki and Sakura's were next to each other and that did not stop them from sending glares at each other every now and then. Right across them, Sasuke and Naruto's were also next to each other but only Naruto saw it as a competition.

Lastly, their sensei, Kakashi was leaning on a tree trunk and was reading, as usual, not giving a care or even looking at his students that were working under the hot morning sun.  
Tsuki wiped some sweat from her forehead and glared at their sensei, who was under the shade of a tree while she and the rest were at the sun. However, her attention went to Naruto who had a proud smile and started walking towards the old Lady, owner of the garden.

With a raised eyebrow, Tsuki's attention went to his part of the garden; only to see that Naruto had pulled everything, weeds and any others plans.

 _Oh no,_ she thought as she turned her whole body in order to have a better view of what was going to happen.

"I won! Miss, I have pulled out all the weeds for you", Naruto said with a proud tone and smile as he stood right in front of her.

"You idiot brat! You pulled out all the weeds and the herbs I have been cultivating!", the old woman yelled at him.

"I am so sorry", Naruto said and raised his hands in order to protect himself from the incoming punch that never came.

With curiosity, he lowered his hands, only to see that Tsuki had grabbed the old woman's fists. She let it go, bowed in respect and said:

"It's okay ma'am. I promise you that he will plant you new ones"

"For his sake, I hope he will", the woman said and glared at the blond genin who shivered under her glare and with a nod, he ran to plant all the herbs back.

Tsuki left out a sigh and walked back to her own garden but not before hearing Kakashi chuckling. Deciding that it was because of his book, she returned to work, not noticing the amused smirk behind Kakashi's mask as his eyes were locked on her form.

* * *

After the gardening mission, Team 7 was sent at the park to clean it from the garbage.

Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were picking the rubbish from the land while Tsuki was using the water walking technique to clean the river.

As usual, Kakashi was under the shade of a tree and was reading. Sending him a glare, Tsuki greeted her teeth and returned to cleaning. She was respecting Kakashi but his ignorant and laziness was getting on her nerves.

Suddenly, she heard something fall into the river and seconds later, Naruto passed next to her. He was taken by the force of the river and was heading straight for the waterfall. Tsuki's eyes widen and started to run towards him but she was too slow.

Naruto fall from the edge but Sasuke came to his aid and by hanging upside down from a rock; he grabbed Naruto's leg and saved him from a trip with no return to the bottom of the river.

"Go Sasuke, you are a true hero", Sakura cheered for him and Tsuki couldn't help but roll her eyes.

* * *

After the whole fuss, there was one last mission left for them… Dog walking.

Sasuke and Sakura had taken from two small dogs while Tsuki had taken the medium one. Kakashi was not helping as usual and the larger dog had been taken, you guessed it, by Naruto.

However, Naruto was missing the strength to control it and the dog was dragging Naruto instead, leading him to where he wanted to go instead of the opposite.

"Hey, come on! Bad Dog!", Naruto said to the dog and tried to change his course. "Hold it! Stop! That's a minefield", he yelled as he was dragged in the field.

A second later after Naruto and the dog entered, explosions were heard and smoke rose to the air.

 _Thank Kami that Kurama's chakra is going to heal him,_ Tsuki thought as Naruto and the dog walked out of the field.

The dog was in perfect condition while Naruto had burn marks all over his skin and clothes, while smoke was coming from different areas. Seeing him in that situation, Tsuki left out a sigh and grabbed the dog from Naruto who said dog immediately followed her every word and every action like he was a completely different dog. What could she say? She had a talent when it comes to animals.

* * *

"Ouch. That stupid dog", Naruto complained as Team 7 was on the way home.

Sakura was holding Naruto's right while Tsuki had the left and they both were helping him to walk.

Sasuke was walking next to Tsuki, an emotionless mask on his face with Kakashi following close behind, his nose still stuck in his pervert book.

"I offered you my help but you denied it", Tsuki said.

"This is what you get when you are reckless", Sakura yelled at him and for once, Tsuki agreed with her.

"You are always the guy who needs help", Sasuke teased him.

"You!", Naruto yelled at him and went to attack him but Tsuki grabbed the back of his collar and held him back.

"Naruto stop. This is not going to end up well", Tsuki I said. He muttered some words under his breath and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Tsuki left out a sigh and a second later, she let go of him, causing Sasuke to smirk. "You too Sasuke. Now stop it. You both gave me a headache", she said and his smirk vanished.

Suddenly, a hand on her shoulder made her look back and up, only to meet her sensei's visible eye.

"Their teamwork is out of shape lately"

"No way!", she replied sarcastically as a head ace had started once again and she couldn't wait to go home and drink hot tea while relaxing away from them. This is why she prefers animals over humans, they were much more peaceful and less loud.

"Yeah! Because you mess it up. You always stick your nose into everything and every time you have to play it hero", Naruto yelled and pointed on Sasuke who ignored him and continued walking.

"That's you, idiot. If you do not want to owe me anything... then become stronger than me", Sasuke finally said after a while and glared at Naruto who glared him back.

"Shall we call it for today? I need to go anyway to give my report to the Hokage", Kakashi said and vanished before anyone could even say anything bad or good.

"Then I am going home", Sasuke said and made his way towards the Uchiha compound.

"Sasuke wait! How about improving our strength and teamwork sounds?", Sakura asked him, who stopped but didn't look at her.

"You are the same as Naruto. To tell you the truth, you are even weaker than him", he said and continued walking.

 _Teme,_ Tsuki thought.

She did not like Sakura but the way he was talking to her and to everyone, in general, was making her mad. Leaving out a sigh, she turned to look at Naruto, only to see him running upside down.

Right behind him, was a box that was 'camouflaged' to look like a rock and had holes, for those who were beneath it, breath and see.  
"A rock with holes doesn't exist. That's too obvious!", Naruto shouted as he stopped and pointed at the box. _Yes because in nature you can find perfectly square boxes. *Sigh* Why do I know who is behind this?_

"Just what I expected from my greatest rival" a voice was heard and the box exploded.

When the smoke cleared, three kids were standing. Two brown-haired boys, one blond girl and all seemed to be around the age of 10.

"Hey you used too much gunpowder", the middle one said while coughing. Then they suddenly took poses.  
"I am Konoha's sexiest kunoichi. My name is Meogi", the girl said.

"I love Algebra. I am Udon", the boy with the glasses said.

"The village's number one rookie, Konohamaru!", the boy in the middle said.

"Just as I thought, it would be you. Why all 3 of you are wearing goggles?", Naruto asked.

"We are copying the old you?", Konohamaru replied.

"Okay, and what do you want?"

"Well leader, do you have time now?", Meogi asked.

"No, I need to go and train"

"Come on. You promised to play ninja with us"

"What's the point of playing a ninja?", Sakura asked and appeared behind Tsuki.

"Hey!, Who are those girls?", Konohamaru asked. "You are better than I thought", he told Naruto while observing both of us. "So, who is yours?", he asked and Tsuki looked at him confused.

 _What does he mean with that?_ she wondered.

"Well, you are pretty sharp", Naruto said while rubbing the back of his neck.

Meanwhile, a vein had appeared on Sakura's head.

"I am not your girlfriend BAKA!", she screamed and punched Naruto on the head.

 _Girlfriend?_ , Tsuki asked herself and could feel a small blush but she managed to hold it. _Wait? Why am I blushing with this? The sun must have hit me too hard. Yes, that's it. I need a cold shower after all this._

"You ugly! Naruto is better without you", Konohamaru said at Sakura who was 2 times more pissed. She started hitting Konohamaru and his friends until Tsuki stopped her.

"That's enough Sakura", she said and grabbed the fist that was going for Konohamaru's face. "Forget them. They are just kids. You are more superior, aren't you?"

"For once, I agree with you freak but never touch me again!", she shouted and shook her now free fists in front of Tsuki's face before dashing off.

"Are you all okay?", Tsuki asked as she helped them all to get up.

They had a couple of bruises but they were okay. Konohamaru and Udon's eyes were with hearts when they saw her.

"Boss, who is this girl", Konohamaru asked Naruto.  
"That's Tsuki. Thanks by the way", Naruto said and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Are those real?", Moegi asked and pointed at the ear and tail.

"Yeah…?"

"Can I touch them?", she asked but before Tsuki could say something, Moegi had grabbed her tail and was rubbing it against her cheek. "It's so soft"

"Thanks", Tsuki said as she grabbed her tail. She was not used nor liked to touch her ears or her tail especially. It made her feel… uncomfortable.

"That ugly forehead girl. I do not know why you like her. Tsuki is much better than her", Konohamaru said and all turned to see Sakura with a very dark aura around her while her hands were in fists.

"If you want my advice. Run!", Tsuki told him and he started running while Sakura was chasing him. If she had learnt one thing about Sasuke was that the word 'forehead' was a taboo one.

They passed by them at an amazing speed and Tsuki was more than impressed. She was ready to help him but before she or anyone could move, Konohamaru bumped on someone's back.

"That hurts", the boy said and turned.

He had brown hair, purple paint on his face and he was wearing black clothes with the hood on his head and a giant object on his back.

"That hurts brat", he repeated as grabbed Konohamaru by the shirt and held him in the air.

"Stop it. We are going to get yelled", a blonde girl, with her hair in 4 ponytails and a giant fan on her back, told him.

"But I want to play till we have time"

"Let go of him", Naruto yelled and charged at him. He easily avoided his attack and sent Naruto flying back but Tsuki caught him just in time.

"I guess Leaf ninja are weak", he said in a mocking tone.

"And Sand ninja like yourself are better? If that so then why are you ready to punch someone weaker and younger than you?", Tsuki said as she stood between the boy and Naruto.

"Where did you come from? A freak show?", Kankuro said as he pointed the ears that were now stuck on her skull and her tail that stood tall.

"What did you say?", she asked through greeted teeth as she started to shake from anger.

"You heard me, _freak_!", Kankuro said, emphasizing on the last word.

"Is that so?", Tsuki said. "Then let me show you what this freak can do" once her words left her lips, she delivered a punch on his nose.

The brown haired boy flew back and fall on top of the blond girl. At the same time, he had left Konohamaru but Tsuki had managed to catch him just in time.

"Are you okay?", she asked as she knelt and gently let him down.

"Yeah, thanks a lot Tsuki", Konohamaru said with a faint blush, as Tsuki gave him a smile.

"You!", the brown haired boy shouted as he walked closer and wiped the blood that was coming from his nose.

She stood up and Konohamaru quickly hid behind her, holding her jacket as if his life was counting on it. The boy stopped a few inches in front of her and Tsuki raised her head while glaring at him.

Her eyes were showing many emotions, but not fear. The brown haired boy started to shake from anger and raised his fist, ready to punch the white-haired girl. However, a rock was thrown at him and hit him hard, making him stop and everyone looked at the thrower.

On top of a tree branch, a few feet away from them, Sasuke was standing. Another rock was on his hand and an annoyed look on his face.

"Sasuke!", Sakura fangirled and the blonde one blushed.

"Get lost", he said and smashed the rock before jumping and landing next to Tsuki.

"I hate show offs like you", the boy said and was ready to make a move but was stopped.

"Kankuro stop", a voice was heard and all looked at the source. There it was a red-haired boy, around their age with green eyes, standing upside down from the same branch. "You are an embarrassment to our village"

"Gaara…", Kankuro tried to say with his eyes wide open.

Tsuki sniffed the air. Two smells quickly caught her attention. One was fear, fear that was coming from the two sand genin and the other was a weird smell that was coming straight from the redhead boy.

Suddenly, Gaara disappeared and reappeared right in front of them by using sand.

"Why do you think we came to this village? You already are losing a fight. Pathetic"

"They started it", Kankuro said.

"Shut up or I will kill you", Gaara told him with a cold tone. "We need to go. We are not here to play"

"Wait. You are enemy ninjas. It is forbidden to enter another village without permission. Even if we are allies", Sakura said.

"You are so clueless. Have all of you leaving under a rock? We-", she tried to say but was caught off.

"They are here for the chunin exams Sakura", Tsuki said.

"At least there is someone who doesn't", she said in a mocking tone and showed Sakura her permission.

Tsuki might not like Sakura but she didn't like the blond either for mocking her comrade. The only reason why she knew that was because she overheard two jounin yesterday on her way to Ichiraku. In addition, they just had come back from their mission two days ago so it wasn't as if they were catching up with the latest news.

"The chunin exams? What's that?", Naruto asked.

"Hey, boss. It is an exam where genin from all the countries gather in order to promote into chunin and be a step closer to a full pledged jounin", Konohamaru said.

"Well, why you didn't say it earlier. I am on it"

"I am sorry for any trouble this 2 caused", Gaara said. "We are leaving", he told them and turned on their heels to leave.

"Hey you!, Identify yourself", Sasuke said and they stopped  
"Who me?", the blonde one asked with a small blush and Tsuki held the need to roll her eyes as she saw another girl blushing for Sasuke. She honestly couldn't understand humans sometimes.

"No, the other one with the gourd in his back"

"I am Gaara of the Dessert. I am also interested in your name and the girl's?", He said.

"Sasuke Uchiha"

"Tsuki Okami"

"Hey I bet you want to know my name too", Naruto said.

"I couldn't care less", he said and they disappeared.

 _Something is off about him,_ Tsuki thought as she made a mental note to herself to keep an eye on him.

* * *

Hokage's Office:

In the 3rd Hokage's office, all the jounin had been summoned. Between the usual Leaf jounin, a few others from different villages were present and that had caused a few whispers that quickly died as the Hokage cleaned his throat.

"I have summoned you, for a very important reason, seeing your fellow jounin here I am sure you all know for what is about", he said.

"So soon? I thought we had a little more time", Kakashi commented.  
"I take it the other lands have been notified about the upcoming event, I noticed their Genin have already arrived here at the village", a brown-haired jounin with a cigarette on his mouth, commented.

"And? When do we start?", a brown-haired woman with red eyes asked.

"We will begin in one week"

"That's pretty short notice", Kakashi commented as the Hokage let out a big cloud of smoke.

"Prepare yourselves, exactly seven days from today on the first of July, the Genin will be gathered and tested. Only the very best will be selected as Chunin"

No one said anything else. Instead, whispers started between the other jounin but no one could blame them. The chunin exams were a very important event and many things could happen.

"All right, this time we will choose our candidates for the chunin examination. To begin, will those of the rookie genin step forward", Lord 3rd said and the red eyes woman, the jounin with the cigarette and Kakashi did as they were told. "Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma what do you say? Are there any in your squads you would recommend? Who are ready for the exams despite their experience? As you know, any Genin who has carried eight or more mission is technically eligible for the examinations. Beyond that, only you can decide when they are ready. Of course, most genin requires a much longer training period, at least twice as many missions. Kakashi, you may begin"

"I lead team 7, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Tsuki Okami. I, Kakashi Hatake, recommend all four of these genins for the chunin examination exams"

"And my squad number 8, Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and now I, Kurenai Yuhi, recommend all three", the red-eyed woman said.

"And my squad is number 10, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi and I, Asuma Sarutobi, recommend all 3 of them"

"Hold on just a minute!"

"Yes, what is it Iruka?", Lord 3rd asked.

"Lord Hokage, with all respect, the 9 of the 10 names that were just given, were all my students at the Academy. I know their skills and abilities, every one of them has great promise but it is too soon. They need more experience before they are tested, if they try now they are sure to fail the exams"

"When I became a chunin, I was six years younger than Naruto", Kakashi informed.

"Naruto is nothing like you! Are you trying to destroy him?! Tsuki maybe the only one qualified but that is not the point! How do you think each one of the will react if their teammate end up dying?!", Iruka shouted as he stood up and walked at the front.

"Well, they are always complaining about not being challenged enough. Maybe wiping out of the exams will teach them a lesson, a little pain is good"

"What did you say?!"

"Oh, nothing fatal of yours but seriously Iruka, listen. I understand how you feel. It's very personal for you and it upsets you but-"

"Aright Kakashi, back off, you have said enough"

"On the contrary Kurenai, Iruka needs to hear this. He needs to realize that Naruto and the others are not his students anymore, they are mine"

"These exams can destroy them, you know that!"

"Maybe so but Naruto, Sasuke and Tsuki are already joining and you know how stubborn they can be"

"It's not their choice!"

"Iruka you have made your point, I understand. Accordingly, I have decided that the best thing to do is hold a special preliminary test", Lord 3rd said.

"Preliminary test?"


	15. Chapter 12

Team 7 was waiting for their sensei at a small bridge. Naruto and Sakura were walking upside down, annoyance and irritation visible on their faces. Tsuki and Sasuke were leaning on the railing, at the very back of the bridge. Both had also irritated faces but because of the noise, their two teammates were making.

"Agh! Why?! Why?! It's always the same! He set's the time and we all have to wait for him for hours!", Sakura complained for the 100th time.

"It's not fair!", Naruto agreed.

"What about my feelings?! I rushed here so fast, I didn't have time blow dry my hair!"

"And I didn't even have enough time to brush my teeth or change my underwear!"

"You didn't? That's really disgusting Naruto"

"Where the heck is he already?", Tsuki wondered as she had covered her sensitive wolf ears and was wishing for them to stop.

"Hey, good morning everyone. Sorry, I am late! I got lost on the path of life", Kakashi said after he had appeared from thin air.

"You liar!", Sakura and Naruto shouted in sync.

"I know that this is a bit sudden but I have recommended all 4 you for the chunin exams. These are the application forms", he said and handed each one the forms. Tsuki looked at hers and titled her head to the side.

 _The Chunin Exams,_ she thought.

"Application forms?"

"You are repeating me Sakura. This is voluntary; it is up to each of you. If you do not feel ready, you can wait till next year"

"Aright! You rock Kakashi sensei!", Naruto said as he hugged him.

"Hey, do not salivate on me", he said as he pushed him away. "Whoever wants to participate in the exams, sign the form and come to the academy in room 301. It's at 3 pm, five days from now"

* * *

Days had passed and a little before the day of Team 7's meeting about the chunin exams, our 4 heroes encountered a foreign ninja. The said ninja captured Moegi, when she, Naruto, Konohamaru, Udon were playing. That caused the three boys to go after them. At the same time, another ninja had transformed into Sasuke and lured Sakura. A third one, appeared in front of Sasuke while a 4th one attacked Akuma while she was cloud watching in the middle of the forest.

However, each of our heroes defeated the enemy with their own style.

Naruto replaced Moegi with a doll and attacked the ninja with his shadow clones. Eventually, the ninja had no other choice but to retreat. Sasuke simply punched the ninja and knocked him down with ease. Then, he 'hn' as usual and continued his way, not even caring if the enemy was unconscious or not.

Sakura quickly understood that he was not the real Sasuke and said that she would not fall for such a trick. Then, she turned the other way and left the ninja deadpan at her behaviour. Lastly, Tsuki heard him coming from 'miles' away and when he appeared in front of her, she simply punched him in the nose and then stood up in order to find a better place to relax.

Kakashi was standing on the rooftop, reading his book when the foreign ninja appeared behind him.

"So? How did it go?" he asked not taking his eyes from his book.

"You were right Kakashi, they are good. They all developed very impressive skills" the ninja said as he took off his mask and turned out to be none other than Iruka.

"Yeah but the chunin exams can break anyone. We will see if they can tough it out"

* * *

The first day of the chunin exams had finally arrived and Team 7 was walking alone, without their sensei, towards the academy. They were all nervous, anxious and lost in their own thoughts, not knowing what they were going to face the moment they would step inside the building. All they knew, was that they would face many foreign ninja and having encountered the three from the sand didn't ease their thoughts. However, there was a small eagerness to pass those exams and climb higher in the rankings of the Ninja system.

They entered the building started climbing the stairs with the final destination on the third floor and the room, 301. However, as they were on the second floor, they noticed a big crowd around a door with the sign 301 _._

 _301? That cannot be right. We are still on the second floor;_ Tsuki thought and looked at Sasuke, who seemed to have noticed it too.

They reached the small crowd and pushed our way through, so they could see what all was about. In the middle of it, in front of the door, two boys were blocking it and we're pushing a boy in a weird green jumpsuit/ The same boy was standing out not due to his clothing but also due to his bowl haircut and very bushy eyebrows. They pushed him away and with enough force to cause him to land on the cold floor while at the same time were laughing with him. A brown-haired grill, with two buns on her head, helped the weird boy to stand up and said:

"Please let us through. We are here for the chunin exams"

The two boys looked at each other before staring laughing once again. Then, they started to mock her ad call her weak. Their rude behaviour was making Tsuki's blood to boil and her ears quickly stuck at her skull while her tails stood up. She greeted her teeth and a very silent growl escaped from her lips as she fought the desire to attack the two bullies. One of the many reasons she didn't like humanity back then. Yes, there was small bullying in the pack as well but that was nowhere near the extent.

The final line was crossed when the guy punched the girl and caused her to fall back. Before he could raise his hand again, he was kicked in the stomach and sent flying back to his friend who caught him. However, the force of the kick was enough to sed both of them on the floor. A few gasps could be heard as the attacker was none other than Tsuki who narrowed her pale eyes on them.

"How pathetic! Fighting someone who is weaker than you. Why don't you try to fight someone in your own size?"

The two boys stood up again and the one who was kicked glared at her but Tsuki didn't flinch. They were both ready to make a move and so was she but a fourth person entered. Sasuke surprisingly stood between them with his casual look and his hands in his pockets. He sent a glare at Tsuki with the tip of his eye, obviously not approving of her sudden action and she scoffed in return before folding her hands in front of her chest. Then he turned his attention to the two boys.

"Before you do anything else, reverse the genjutsu. It's too obvious"

Whispers started in the crowd as they reversed the genjutsu. Tsuki ignored them and helped the brown-haired girl who was surprised by her help and by her odd appearance.

"So, you noticed the genjutsu," one of the boys said.

"Of course we did. Tell them Sakura; you just saw it for the first time. You are the sharpest eyes on our team"

"Oh yeah, we are still on the 2nd floor," she said and the sing changed to 201.

The boy from before decided to grab the chance that Sasuke was occupied and raised his leg for a kick. However, Sasuke had already seen him and did the same. Seconds before their kicks collide; the boy in the green jumpsuit appeared between them and caught their legs.

 _Wow, he is fast,_ Tsuki thought as she observed him carefully. Suddenly, a dark browned haired boy with pale eyes, like Hinata's, approached them.

"Hey what happened to the plan? It was your idea to keep a low profile" the boy said to the one in the green jumpsuit.

"I know but…" he stopped when he spotted Sakura and Tsuki. "My name is Rock Lee. And you are Sakura right?"

"Huh?", she asked him confused.

"Please be my girlfriend and I am vowing that I will protect you with my life", he told her and gave her a grin with his thumb up.

"Definitely... No"

"Why?"

"Because you are a weirdo" Sakura replied him with a cold tone. He then turned to Tsuki, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"…"

No words came from her mouth, as she was too shocked. She knew the world girlfriend but being asked out of the blue, in front of so many people; that was what she found the most strange. Plus, she had to decline but before she could say any word, someone beat her to it.

"She says no!" Sasuke said as he stood right next to his teammate and grabbed her forearm. "Come on, we are leaving", he continued and was ready to make a move when the brown-haired boy with the pale eye, stopped them.

"You two. What are your names?"

"It's a common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone else's" Sasuke quickly replied, not allowing Tsuki to say a word.

"You are rookies aren't you? How old are you?"

"We are not obliged to answer"

"What's that?" he asked as a banging sound reached their ears and all turned to see Naruto and Lee banging their heads on the wall.

"A weirdo?" Lee asked himself.

"No one ever wants to know my name" Naruto complained.

"Hey Naruto, Sasuke, Tsuki come on", Sakura yelled as Sasuke pulled Tsuki, his grip on her forearm tight.

The white-haired genin quickly grabbed the back of Naruto's jacket and pulled him with her. After they were away from the others, Tsuki let go of Naruto and pulled her hand back while glaring at the young Uchiha.

"Why did you do that?", she asked, her anger rising and her ears flat on her head.

"It was obvious you were stuck and we do not have all the time. We have to be on time in the classroom 301 and you were holding us back!"

"I... I was holding us back? Excuse me that I was trying not to be a bitch like cotton candy over there!", Tsuki said and pointed at Sakura but her full attention was on Sasuke as they now stood face to face.

Sakura death glared at her, not only because she was insulting her once again but also because she had grabbed Sasuke's attention, making her furious. The glaring contest between Sasuke and Tsuki kept going but was stopped when someone cleared their throat.

They all looked up, following the source of the sound only to see Lee hanging upside down from the ceiling. "I want to fight you", he said, jumped down and pointed at Sasuke.

"You want to fight me?"

"Yes. My name is Rock Lee. You said that others should introduce themselves before asking Sasuke Uchiha"

"So you know me"

"Yeah! Everyone is talking about how great and powerful the Uchiha clan is. I want to test that myself. So I challenge you", he said and then turned his attention to Sakura. "And also. Sakura, I love you", he told her and he blew a kiss to her.

Sakura sidestepped an avoided but then panicked when Lee started blowing her, even more, kisses which she barely managed to avoid them as Naruto had a shocked and angry expression on his face. He was ready to send some to Tsuki but Sasuke and Naruto quickly death glared him as they stood by her side protectively. That caused him to stop before he could even begin, understanding the too obvious message at that moment.

"Stay back. This one is mine", Naruto said with an angry look and he was ready to attack Lee but he rejected him. Sasuke finally accepted the challenge and they started fighting.

He tried to kick him but Lee easily avoided his attack and kicked Sasuke hard in return. The Uchiha quickly activated his Sharingan but it wasn't much of a help as Lee was much faster with his attack. He focused only on taijutsu and showed the proficiency she had by embarrassing their teammate. A few moments later, Sasuke was sent flying on the air and Lee appeared behind him. The eyes of the audience widen as they saw the bandages being untangled by his arms and ready to wrap around Sasuke body. However, before he could make his move; a strong voice was heard and interrupted the much.

"Lee stop!", the voice said and the two boys were forced to stop and land. Then everyone's attention went towards the source, only to see a giant red ninja turtle. Summoning animal with a blue leaf headband and a disapproving look on his face. "What do you think you are doing?", he asked him and Lee tried to apologize but he was stammering.

"Hey, guys? Do you think that turtle can be his sensei? I mean, it is not possible right?" Naruto asked.

"He is a summoning Naruto. Most likely belong to Lee's real sensei" Tsuki explained.

 _Where is this sensei though?_ she wondered and as if her thoughts have been heard, smoke blinded them all. When it was cleared, it showed a man standing on top of the turtle. Surprisingly, the man was like a much older version fo Lee, supporting the same outfit, haircut and even the eyebrows. The difference was the height and maturity of the face. Tsuki couldn't help herself but deadpan when she realised that this man was the sensei.

"Look at him. He is the same as Lee, only in a bigger version. Same bowl haircut and even bushier eyebrows", Naruto stated out loud.

"How dare you insulting Guy sensei?! The greatest sensei ever?", Lee yelled at Naruto.

Lee then started to argue with his sensei. Finally, after a while, his sensei punched Lee but at the same time, he was holding himself from crying with the speech that this was for Lee's good. In the end, they hugged each other and started crying. The drama was far from over when Guy ordered Lee to run 100 laps around the village but was stopped by Sakura; who reminded them that the exams were about to begin. To everyone surprise, Lee offered to do 500 and be back before the exam starting which caused Tsuki to facepalm.

"Hey, you are Kakashi's team right?", Guy asked them.

"Yeah, how do you know Kakashi sensei?", Tsuki asked.

"I am his eternal rival with 49 wins and 50 defeats", he bragged and Tsuki raised an eyebrow at him along with a _"_ _you kidding me"_ look.

However, her gaze quickly changed direction and looked at Sasuke who had minor scratches. Taking some bandages from her pouch, she started to take care of his light wounds while glaring at him every time he tried to protest. She was so deep in her thoughts about everything she had learnt and saw until now that she did not notice the death glare that Sakura was sending her, the glares that Naruto was sending Sasuke and the studying look that Guy had as he observed her wolf parts.

"Come on Guys, we have to go to the meeting point. Nice meeting you Guy sensei", Tsuki said and bowed to the jounin before exiting the room.

He was strange but proved that Lee had very good training and despite ebing hard to believe; if indeed was her sensei's rival then that it meant something. She should be the last to allow a mere appearance to trick her and cloud her judgement

"Say Kakashi a hello from me!", Guy shouted as they all left.

* * *

Finally, they reached the room 301 without any other obstacles or delays. Surprisingly, Kakashi was there already and was waiting for them.

 _That is new. He is on time or we are very late_ , Tsuki thought.

"I am glad you came Sakura. For your sake and the other's", Kakashi told her.

"What do you mean?"

"You see, in the exams only groups of three or four are allowed. You are all team 7, so if one of you did not want to enter, no one else could. Each member had to take the exam"

"But Kakashi sensei, even if Sakura did not come we could still enter as a 3 member squad", Naruto said.

"You could but I wouldn't let you. As I said, you are all team 7 and if one does not want to participate then no one else was going to. That is how a team works"

With a nod, Team 7 started to enter but Tsuki stopped and looked at her sensei.

"Say Kakashi, do you know a man named Guy?"

"Yeah… why?"

"We met him and his team, or at least two members of it and he said that he is your eternal rival. Is that true?"

"Well… actually, he is" Kakashi admitted while rubbing the back of his neck. "Why, what did he say?"

"Nothing, just to tell you hello but… well… he is weird" Tsuki admitted and Kakashi started laughing.

"I guess he is but he is special n his own way. If you met his students, I am sure you took a small taste am I right?", he asked she messed with the young girl's hair.

"You can say that but still. The way he dresses…" the naïve genin said and shivered, only to cause Kakashi to laugh more.

"Yeah but that doesn't matter. Now, go! The others are waiting for you" the copycat said and with a nod, Tsuki entered the room leaving an amused Kakashi.

 _Literally Tsuki. Sometimes you can be so clever and serious and other, you are more naïve than Naruto. Well, good luck at the exams and keep them safe,_ Kakashi thought and was about to leave but decided to stay a little until the proctor would arrive.

* * *

Tsuki opened the door and stepped in, not failing to notice how full the room was; with ninja from all great nations and even smaller ones. Another thing she noticed was the fact that they were much older than her or her teammates and that we're all looking at her. Used by now to the attention, she scanned the room for her teammates but spotted a bunch of red hair at the very back. Then, her eyes connected with the seafoam ones of Gaara and she felt a small shiver run down her spine.

However, it wasn't due to fear; no. It was something else and deep down she had a suspicion about what it was.

"Tsuki, what took you so long" Naruto's voice brought her back to the reality.

"Oh, I just asked Kakashi about Guy, you know the man we met before that said he was his eternal rival?"

"Oh yeah! Bushy brows sensei!" Naruto exclaimed and Tsuki sweatdropped at the nickname.

"Hey Tsuki. Long-time no see" Kiba suddenly said as Akamaru jumped on her hug.

"Hey Kiba, Akamaru," the wolf girl said as she rubbed her nose with Akamaru's. "How are you my cutie?" she asked and the dog barked in response before she let him lay down in her arms and started to pet his white fur.]His and her tail both wagging from happiness.

"Hey Tsuki, how is going?" Choji asked while he was eating his chips.

"Good, I am so glad that you are all here"

"We ar-re too- Tsu-ki", Hinata shuttered.

"The rookies 10 are together again. This would be fun. At least for those who are strong enough, right Sasuke?" Kiba said and Sasuke smirked.

"Be careful Kiba, someone is overconfident"

"We trained like hell. We are not going to lose to you"

"Shut up, I won't lose to any of you" Naruto yelled and pointed at Kiba.

"I am sor-ry Na-ru-to. K-ib-a didn't m-ean it th-at w-ay" Hinata said while playing with her fingers.

"What?" Naruto asked her and took a step closer. only for her to blush more.

"Akamaru sure looks tasty," Choji said making Kiba growl.

With that comment, Akamaru jumped from Tsuki's hug and landed on top of Kiba's head, growling at Choji. Tsuki rolled her eyes at the weird behaviour of her teammates and randomly looked down, only to spot an insect. Choji was ready to step on it but she stopped him. She knelt and let the insect crawl on her hand before standing up again. She looked from her hand to Shino who walked towards her.

"Thank you," he said as the bug flew back on him and entered his sleeve.

"Hey, guys! You should probably keep it down a little. You are all rookies, right? Fresh from the academy? I wouldn't make myself a spectacle if I were you" a voice said and all turned to see a young grey-haired teenager, with glasses.

"Who are you to talk to us like that?" Ino, who had stopped her fight with Sakura, asked him.

"I am Kabuto Yakushi but seriously look around you," he said and they did. Almost every ninja in the room had their eyes on them. "You have made quite the impression. See those guys? They are rain ninja and they are quite touchy. Everyone here is. The exams make everyone tense up and I bet you wouldn't want to rub somebody the wrong way. You can't help it. I mean how you could know how think works. You are just rookies. You remind me of myself"

"This isn't the first time you have taken the exams, right?" Tsuki asked him.

"No, it's actually my 7th. But they are held twice a year, so this will be my 4th year", Kabuto confessed while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wow, you are like a veteran. That means that you must be an expert right now", Sakura said full with excitement.

"Yeah, sort of"

"Cool, you can give us all the inside tips", Naruto said.

"Forgive me but how is an expert if he had never passed?" Tsuki asked them, giving a cold shoulder on Kabuto. He was sending a very dark vibe and her instincts were telling her to keep a distance from him.

"Well, 7th time is a charm. That's what they say"

"So, I guess all these rumours about the exams are tough are true. Oh man, I knew this was going to be a drag"

"Hang on! Do not give up hope yet. Perhaps, I can help you, kids, a little. With my ninja info card," he said and took from his pocket a pack of cards.

"What the those?" Naruto asked,

"It's hard to explain but these cards have been chakra encoded with information, I have leant over the past 4 years. I have more than 200 of them. So, you see, I haven't completely wasted my time", He said and looked at me. "They may not look much to the naked eye, in fact, they appear blank. Don't want just anyone seeing this stuff" Kabuto said and opened a card, which as he said was blank.

"What are you doing?" Tsuki asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"You see, I am using my chakra to reveal their secrets," he said and after a while in the card appeared a 3D map.

"Awesome! A map of what?" Sakura asked him.

"It shows the geographical distribution of all the candidates who have come to take the exams. What village they come from and how many from each village. Why do you guys think, they all came here to take the exams together at the same time?" He asked them and all except Tsuki looked at him confused.

"It's to foster friendship between the nations. But there is also another reason right?" Tsuki explained and earned a smirk from Kabuto.

"I see someone has done her studies and yes there is. The important thing is that this way we can regulate the total number of shinobi to end up on each village there, by maintaining the balance of power"

"Oh yeah! Balance of power", Naruto said as he tried to play it smart but everyone could see how confused he really was. Tsuki looked at the others who seemed confused too. Well, only the boys except for Shikamaru and Shino.

"He means that through this, they can keep an eye on each village and know when a village's power is too big and consists a threat", Tsuki said and the boys nodded, as they finally understand it.

 _Don't you guys ever open a book, especially when you were told to participate?_ she wondered as she left out a sigh but then remembered how lazy she was in studying as well. Her sensei would bring her books and had her memorize important information but Tsuki would be too occcupied witht the pack to actually study. However, seeing the disappointment in his eyes she learnt how to focus on them and that day proved how right he was.

"Balance of power, big deal. It's all a drag", Shikamaru said obviously bored.

"Your friend over there, she is right," he said and pointed at Tsuki. "If the balance is not maintained, a nation could easily end up with more Shinobi than its neighbours and may attempt to attack. So, they try to maintain their status"

"Do those cards of yours have any info on other candidates? Individually?", Sasuke asked.

"They might. You have some special in mind?"

"I might"


	16. Chapter 13

"Well, I cannot promise any information is complete or perfect. However, I have something on just about everyone. Including you people of course. So, which one is it? Tell me anything you know about them, a description, where they are from, wherever. Anything at all"

"Gaara of the Sand and Rock Lee of the Leaf village"

"Man, that's not fun. You even know their names, which makes it easy" Kabuto, said as he picked two cards. "Here they are" he said as he placed the blank cards on the floor.

"Show them to me"

"Ok, first up is Rock Lee. Looks like he is a year older than you guys. Mission experience: 11 C-rank and 20 D-rank. His squad leader is Might Guy and his teammates are TenTen and Neji Hyuga. Their sensei held them one year before he allowed them to take part in the exams. This means that it is their first time as well. In the last 12 months, Lee's taijutsu had radically improved but his other skills are pretty shaky"

"Huh, Hyuga?" Naruto asked as Kabuto infused chakra on the second card.

"Now for Gaara of the desert. Mission experience: 8 C-rank and get this, 1 B-rank. There is not a lot of information on this person. He was a rookie from another land originally. In addition, look at this. He survived every mission without having a scratch on him"

"That dude did a B-rank mission as a genin and has never been injured?" Shikamaru asked.

"What's the deal with this guy?" Naruto asked

 _How did he survive a B-rank without a scratch? Our own B almost A-rank with Zabuza, ending with almost losing Sasuke and me. Something is off here. Does this have to do with the gourd on his back? From our last encounter, we saw that he is using the sand but can he really be that good and still a genin,_ Tsuki wondered as she shot a quick look at the said genin.

"Anyway! Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound. From the look of it, they have all sent exceptionally skilled to the exam this time around. Of course, the village hidden in the sound is small. It sprang up recently; no one knows anything about it. Those guys are a mystery" Kabuto said and snapped Tsuki from her thoughts.

"Well it looks like that the competition is going to be tough this year", she commented.

"So it would seem. It is enough to make you lose your confidence" Hinata said while playing with her fingers.

"Do you really think is going to be tougher this time?" Sakura asked Kabuto.

"Oh yeah! In the 4 years I have been coming, I have never seen a crop of candidates with as much potential as this bunch", Kabuto said and Tsuki noticed Naruto with his head down, shaking.

"Hey, do not worry Naruto. We will be fine", Sakura said in an attempt to comfort him but Tsuki suspected that something was going inside his head. At last, Naruto rose his head with a big grin on it.

 _Oh no_ , Tsuki thought and quickly covered her ears.

"MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI AND I AM GOING TO BEAT YOU ALL. BELIEVE IT!"

"Hey! What is that idiot trying to do? Get us all killed?" Ino said and started to fight with Sakura again.

"Ahhhh yeah! I feel a lot better now"

"Can you say that a little louder? Didn't quite catch it" Kiba said while cleaning his ear.

"You idiot. Are you trying to make everyone hate our guts or what?" Shikamaru asked him.

Sakura hit Naruto on the head and then apologized by claiming that he is mentally unstable.

Suddenly, Tsuki heard a kunai flying and heading towards Kabuto. Acting on impulse, she pulled the tall genin down, saving his life as the kunai stuck in the wall behind them.

"Thank you," he said and she gave a nod as she kept her eyes on the thrower, who was none other than a sound ninja.

The same one threw two kunai which she had to avoid by jumping back and let them hit the ground she was standing a second ago. However, while she was distracted, the sound ninja made their move. Kabuto, being exposed, was targeted and a ninja with bandages on his face and a cow print on his coat went to punch Kabuto. The white-silvered haired genin managed to avoid his attack but seconds later his glasses shattered.

Tsuki had fallen on her knees and was holding her ears, earning the rookies attention. At the same time, Kabuto fell on his one knee and started to puke, making the rookies and some ninja to look with fear and shock at the four sound genins.

Suddenly smoke appeared and dozens of jounin were standing in the middle. In front of them was a man with scars on his face, wearing a black coat.

"Alright! You baby-face degenerates pipe down and listen up. I am Ibiki Morino your proctor. And from this moment your worst enemy" He said and the silence was spread across the room. "I will say this one, so listen up. There will be no combat between the candidates, no attacking each other without the permission of your proctor and even then, use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who thinks to mess up with me will be disqualified immediately. Got it?"

"Hmpf. No fatal force? That's not fun" the sound ninja who attacked Kabuto said.

"Now, if you are ready, we will proceed to the first stage of the exam. Hand over your paperwork and in return, you will each be given a number, which determines where you will sit. We will start the written test once is everyone on their seats" Ibiki said.

"The what? ... Did... he say... written?" Naruto asked afraid and a jounin showed him the pile of papers in his hand. "Not a written test. No way!"

Despite Naruto protests, no one said or did anything. Instead, everyone got in line and waited to take their paper and their seat number.

Tsuki got her number and to her dismay, she was placed far away from her three teammates. To her surprise, Gaara passed and took the seat next to her. Blinking twice, Tsuki returned to reality, sat down and looked at Ibiki who would soon start the explanation. She could feel someone staring at her and she was sure that it was Gaara but for some odd reason, she did not find the power to look at him in the eyes as shivers were sent once again at her spine.

"Everyone eyes up on the front! There are a few rules that you need to be aware of and I will not answer any questions. So, listen up and pay attention. All right rule number one: The written part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system. Contrary to what some of you may be used to, you will all begin with a perfect score of 10 points. One point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong. So, for example, if you miss three, your final score will be seven. Rule number two: Teams will pass or fail based on the total score of all their members"

"Wait! Wait a second. Are you saying that we are scored as a team?" Sakura asked.

"Silence! I have my reason. So shut up and listen! Rule number three: The sestinas you see around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. Moreover, for every incident they spot, they will subtract 2 points. Be warned that their eyes are extremely sharp and if they catch you 5 times, you will be dismissed. Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating doesn't deserve to be here"

 _Wait a minute. That was not a rule. That was a warning but why?_ Tsuki wondered.

"If you want to be considered shinobi then show us what exceptional shinobi you are", Ibiki said. _Wait another hint? I must read between the lines. There is something more to it_ , she thought. "One more thing. If any candidate gets zero and fails the test then the entire team fails. The last question will be given 15 minutes before the end. You will have 1-hour in total. Now Begin!", he yelled everyone turned their papers.

Tsuki raised her gaze and looked at her teammates.

Sasuke and Sakura were glaring at Naruto, who was depressed and had started to panic. She wanted to help him but she was too far away but then she noticed that Hinata was seating next to him. She could see that Hinata had a soft spot for Naruto and smiled as deep down, she knew she would help him. Suddenly, she felt glares and when she looked at her left, she saw a half of the jounin looking at her. Leaving out a sigh, she returned to her test.

Scanning the questions, she raised an eyebrow as each question was harder than the others.

 _Something is not right. These questions are way too hard. How do they expect us to answer even one? No, there is more to it. Come on Tsuki, think! He said that if we get caught then we are not Shinobi, also we only lose 2 points for every time but we are not being disqualified immediately. C_ _ome on Tsuki, think! What are we supposed to do?_ the wolf girl thought and grabbed her head as a small head ace had started to form.

However, along with the head ace, the solution also came.

Looking around her, she confirmed it. The whole point was to cheat without getting caught because this test was not just for knowledge, not it was a true test to see how good ninja they were. Ninja many times required to steal or spy for the sake of the village or the mission. See scanned the classroom carefully and noticed that almost or at least most of the candidates had already started to figure it out.

Akamaru was telling the answers to Kiba. Sasuke was using his Sharingan to copy the moves of his front, Neji was using his Byuakugan to see the paper of the genin in front of him and the sound ninjas were using the sound from the pencils

Smiling Tsuki closed her eyes and concentrated. She blocked every sound minus Akamaru's backings. Thanking Kami that she could understand him; she opened her eyes and started to copy down the answers. However, she had managed only to hear half of it and had only 5 of the 10 questions answered. Biting her lip, she prayed that it would be enough to pass even with a barely good score.

To her surprise, Sand landed on the paper next to her. She looked up, only to see a human orb made form sand flying above the room. Looking at her left, she noticed that Gaara had covered his right eye and he was writing on the paper.

 _Clever and awesome jutsu,_ she thought as she observed the sand ninja. When Gaara was over, the eye dissolved into sand and was taken by the small breeze that was entering from a barely open window.

Gaara sensed her starring and turned his head to look at her. Blinking twice and not finding any words to say, she gave a closed eye smile before turning back at her paper. She could feel his eyes burning holes into her soul but tried her best to ignore it and answer any question she knew the answer.

Time passed rather quickly and almost half of the team were disqualified. Now, it was time for the last questions and the remaining genin were holding their breaths.

"Alright listen up! Here is the 10th question but before I give it to you there are some more rules that you need to be aware of" Ibiki said and drew everyone's' attention. Before he could say anything else, the door opened and Kankuro, who had went to the bathroom, entered. "Ah made it just in time. I hope you found your trip to the bathroom to be enlightening. Well, take your seat" he orders him. "These rules are unique to the 10th question, so listen carefully. And try not to let them frighten you" he said. _Another hint_ , Tsuki thought. "Rule number one: It's of you, is free to choose if wants to be given the final questions" he continued and whispers spread through the room.

"So, what's the catch? What if we decide not to take it? What happens next?" Temari asked him.

"If you choose not to take the 10th question regardless of your answers to the other 9, you will get a zero. In other words, you will fail and you know that means that your teammates fail as well. If you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly you will not only fail, you will be banned from taking the exams ever again"

Everyone gasped in shock and few lost the confidence they had just a few minutes ago. Tsuki was one of them and she gulped at the debate that had suddenly started in her mind.

"I guess that you are just... unlucky. I was not making the rules before, but I am now. Of course, if you do not want to take it you do not have to. If you are not feeling confident then skip it. You can come back and try again next year. Now then, if you are ready… the 10th and last question. Those who do not want to take it, raise your hand. Your number will be recorded and you are free to go" he said and some ninja already raised their hands. The jounin started writing down the seat number and the teams quickly started to leave. Tsuki noticed that Naruto was about to raise his hand and bit her bottom lip while deep down wondering what he was thinking.

To her and everyone's surprise, he slammed his hand with force at the desk and shouted:

"Do not underestimate me! I do not quit and I do not run! You can cut thought all you want, you people are not going to scare me though! No way! I do not care if I stuck as a genin for the rest of my life. I will still be Hokage someday!"

His words echoed through the room and most if not all the rest genin suddenly obtained confidence and quickly stopped themselves from quitting.

"This decision is one that can change your life if for any reason you would rather quit. Now is your last chance" Ibiki told him.

"No way! I never go back on my word. That my ninja way"

"Well then. I admire your determination. Nothing else. For those who are remaining, there is one last thing to say. And that is to tell you, that you all passed the exams".

"Hold on. What do you mean we passed? What about the last question?" Sakura asked.

"There never was one. Not a written one at least. Actually, your decision to stay was the answer"

"Wait a second? So, the other 9 questions were just a waste of time?" Temari demanded.

"No, not at all. Quite the opposite. The other had an important over writing purpose. To test your ability to gather information under had circumstances"

 _I knew it_ , Tsuki said in her mind and let out a sigh of relief. Who knew what she would have decided if Naruto hadn't given his speech. She would give it to him, he had a good heart.

"Oh well. That clears up everything"

"Let me explain. You see my objective was to you not only as individuals but also as a team. To see how well you function as a part of it. That was the reason why the test was scored on a team basis. Therefore, you would know that everything you did or failed to do was going to affect your teammates. I wanted to see how you would handle under pressure. Those who would put their comrade's life in danger, worrying about their own. Those who would choose to save their necks in the price of honour will never be able to call themselves Chunin. Not as long as I am here. As for the rest, you have successfully answered all 10 questions I gave you and I give you permission to continue to the next stage. You passed the first gate. Now I declare the first part of the exams completed. I wish you all good luck"

Then, something came at an alarming speed and crushed through the window. Glass came towards Tsuki and before she could react, sand appeared in front of her and shielded her from the pieces.

She looked at Gaara with wide eyes, who also seemed slightly surprised by his actions. Confused, Tsuki whispered a 'thank you' and turned her attention at the front, as the thing that had just crushed through the window was none other than a purpled hair woman. A giant ban was behind her that said: **Anko Midarashi, proctor of the second stage of the chunin exams.**

"Heads up boys and girls. This is no time to be celebrating. I will be your next proctor, Anko Midarashi. Are you ready for the second test? Good! Follow me", she said and made a move to leave but noticed that everyone was looking at her.

"You are early again" Ibiki yelled as he tore her banner that was covering him.

"How many are there? Ibiki, don't tell me you let this entire pass? You are getting soft"

"Or it could be a stronger group of candidates this year"

"Hm, they sure do not look like it. Trust me before I am done with them, more than half will be eliminated. All right you maggots. You have had it easy so far, but things are going to be different. Starting tomorrow morning. I will let your squad leader know, the place we will meet. Dismissed" Anko said and everyone started to exit the classroom.

Tsuki quickly joined her comrades but just before she exited the room, she turned her head and look at Gaara who had just reunited with his teammates. They locked eyes for a second and she gave him a wave before following her friends out of the classroom. Not looking back, she did not notice the shocked face Gaara had for a few seconds but quickly covered it with his usual emotionless mask before ordering the others to follow him.

* * *

It was around 10 or 11 o'clock. Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Tsuki were on their way to the meeting point, Anko had said to Kakashi. Tsuki yawned and stretched herself as she had once again nightmares, and lost precious sleep. After a few minutes, they finally arrived and noticed that the other ninja had come before them. Naruto's jaw dropped when he saw the giant forest that was behind the giant metal fence while Tsuki smirked. At last, she was in her element but she wasn't alone this time which meant she had to be careful.

"Wow! It is amazing. But… what is it?", he asked.

"This is the location for the second phase. The 44th battle training ground, but we prefer to call it the forest of death" Anko said and Naruto started to shake from fear.

"The forest... of death?"

Tsuki rolled her eyes but then noticed a box with holes coming closer to Naruto. After a few seconds, he spotted it too. He started to walk and then run up and down, the box following him.

"That's the worst disguise ever. Everyone knows that square rocks with holes, doesn't exist" he yelled. The box exploded and three kids appeared, three very familiar kids.

"I think we used too much gunpowder you guys", Konohamaru said to his team before everyone pose.

"The sexiest kunoichi in preschool, I am Moegi"

"I love Algebra, I am Udon"

"The number 1 ninja of the village, Konohamaru. And together we are the Konohamaru ninja squad"

"I knew it was you guys. I am just about to take the second stage of the exams. I do not have time to play with you"

"We didn't come here to play boss," Konohamaru said.

"Yeah! We came for an exclusive interview" Moegi said.

"Interview huh?"

"We have to interview for the newspaper of the academy. The chunin exam selections are a big story" Konohamaru said.

"So, we want to interview you. Please tell us that you want. It would mean a lot" Moegi begged him.

"Yeah, but right now-" Naruto tried to say but he was interrupted by Anko.

"You there! What you think you are doing? You're holding up the exams" she told them and came closer.

"Sorry, but Konohamaru said something about an interview for the newspaper"

"Oh yeah! I forgot that Lord Hokage mentioned something about interviewing me" Anko said and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I thought I was going to be interviewed"

"Not only your boss, but you are the most important"

"In that case. I am going to give you an interview that will make clear why I am the best ninja"

"Okay, everyone. 10 minutes break for the interview",= Anko yelled.

"Anyone who is going to be interviewed is ready and one of us will come to you", Konohamaru yelled.

Tsuki froze and slowly started to take a few steps back. She did not like attention and definitely, she did not like being interviewed. Not that she had been before but she was not ready to try it.

To her bad luck, Naruto spotted her and before she could run, he had grabbed her from her wrist and started to drag her where the others were waiting.

"Sasuke Uchiha is a real pretentious guy. All the girls think he is cool but they do not realize what a big jerk he is. Anyway, he is always swooping at the last minute and makes me look bad. However, one day, i will show him. Next is Sakura Haruno. I'll tell you a little secret, she's madly in love with me but of course she doesn't admit it", Naruto said and looked at Sakura.

 _Thank Kami; both Sakura and Sasuke did not hear all this because we were going to have a big problem._ Tsuki  
thought as with her sensitive hearing she had heard his whole speech.

"Tsuki was the first from the whole village who became my best and true friend and she still is. No offence. She is very cute, sweet but at the same time mysterious sometimes but her abilities are awesome. She is always there for me and she actually saved my butt once from a wave of angry fangirls"

Tsuki smiled at Naruto's comments and her attention was brought back as she noticed Udon walking towards them.

"Sasuke you are the coolest. When I look at you, I feel like I am looking at my future self. Do you mind if I take some quotes of yours for the article?"

"I guess. If you listen to Naruto, your article will be more of a fairy tale than true"

"No, you don't Sasuke. They came here to interview me, not you" Naruto yelled and stormed right in front of him.

"Nobody cares about you Naruto" he replied and were already to argue.

Tsuki, who was holding her ears, she decided that she had enough. She grabbed both from the back of their heads and smacked them together. The two boys fell on their butts and started to rub the place they had crushed. Then, they simultaneously turned to Tsuki but before they could protest, she beat them.

"Listen you bakas. This is only a stupid interview. Our goal is the exams, so save your energy for what will come next!", she said in a strict voice and put on her scary face. They both nodded and Naruto left while Sasuke went with Udon.

Leaving out a sigh, Tsuki felt someone grabbing her tail and when she turned her head, she spotted that Moegi had once again hugged and rubbing it against her cheek.

"That was so cool Tsuki. May I ask a few questions?", she asked.

"Sure but please, leave my tail alone", Tsuki said as she pulled her tail back.

Then, the two of them walked a little far away from the others.

"Let's start about you and your comrades"

"Well…my name Tsuki Okami and I am the 4th member of team 7… along with Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki and our sensei Kakashi Hatake… Sasuke… is the leader of the team. Do not listen to what Naruto said… He may be quiet but he is mature enough to lead us, even if sometimes he is a bit sarcastic but he is who he is… Sakura… is clever and quite an if not a lot annoying but I have to admit that this girl has brains and she is always ready to keep Naruto at his place before getting into trouble, even if her way is a little… well violent. Naruto… is our hyperactive knucklehead as we call him… He may not look like it but he has a good heart and he will do anything when it comes to his comrades... He is the spirit of the team as you may call it", Tsuki said and looked at him, only to see him posing in front of the camera.

"What about you? What about your sensei?"

"Me? Well I… I try to prevent Naruto and Sasuke from fighting and…. To tell you the truth…. I believe that I may…somehow, help Kakashi maintain peace but if you think… well, that I fight with Sakura a lot…. I wouldn't be so sure…. Kakashi, who is known as the copycat ninja, is a great sensei… He is wise and he is teaching us very useful things but the way he does it…its…well… a little bit weird... He is a great leader and I admire his patience when he is with us but I can't stand his laziness"

"Okay, next and last one. What do you think about the next stage? Are you scared? Who do you hope to fight?"

"To tell you the truth… I am kind scared but I know that I will have the others to cover me, therefore I am not that much… As for whom I hope to fight… well, no one as everyone here is very powerful and about the next stage… well, something tells me that it might… no! It is going to be difficult but as long as there is teamwork between us, I believe we have nothing to worry about"

"Thank you so much, Tsuki"

"I hope I wasn't that bad. It is actually the first time I being interviewed" the white-haired genin admitted while rubbing the back of her neck.

"No, you did great. I hope to become like you when I grow up" Moegi admitted and left, leaving a stunned but smiling Tsuki.


	17. Chapter 14

"Okay everyone gather up. It's time for the second phase to begin!" Anko yelled and all gathered up.

Team 7 was at the very front, each one with a different expression on his/her face. Fear was Sakura while curiosity was on Tsuki's face. The usual emotionless mask was on Sasuke while impatiens was on Naruto's face.

"This is the forest of death and soon enough you are going to find out why"

"They call it the forest of death and soon enough you are going to find out why," Naruto said while mimicking Anko. "Do you best? You cannot scare me anyway. I can handle everything"

"Well, looks like we got ourselves a tough guy," Anko said and smirked.

She threw a kunai at him, which scratched his cheek a little bit. In seconds, she was behind him with another kunai at his neck.

"Are you sure you can handle it? Tough guys like you, usually leave their blood all over this forest" she told him and Naruto gulped from fear.

Just then, a strange grass ninja appeared behind her and she was holding her kunai with his tongue.

"I was just returning your kunai"

"Why thank you grass ninja. I recommend you to stand behind me only if you have a death wish", she told her and took her kunai.

The grass ninja returned to her team and while everyone's attention went back to Anko, Tsuki's stayed a little longer on the suspicious grass ninja. Something was off about her and she could feel it. The noise of Sakura's high-pitched voice brought her back to reality, only to see that Naruto was trying to see how long his tongue was and caused Sakura to be disgusted by him.

"Now, before we begin this test I have something to hand to all of you. It's just a standard consent form before the test all of you have to read and sign it" she yelled and showed some papers she was holding.

"What for?" Naruto asked.

"Some of you may not come back from this test alive and I need to have your consent on that risk. Otherwise, it will be my responsibility. I will explain to you what you will be doing to this test. First thing you need to know is that this is going to test your survival skills. I will give you a description of the terrain on the practice field. The 44th battle zone had 44 locked entrance gates. There are rivers and in the centre is a locked tower, which is located 10kh from each gate. In this area, you will undergo the survival test. The test consists of everything about the battle and your goal to take these", she said and pulled out two scrolls.

"Both of them?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, you will be fighting to get both heaven and an earth scroll. Altogether, 26 teams will be taking part in this test. Half of those teams will be going for the heaven scroll while the other half for the earth scroll. I will hand one scroll to each team and that's what you will be looking for"

"So, how do we pass the test?" Sasuke asked.

"Your team must bring both the heaven and earth scroll to the tower"

"That means that half of us will fail," Sakura said.

"No one said that it was going to be easy. In addition, there is one more thing that you need to know. This test has a time limit. You must finish it within 5 days"

"5 days out there? What are we supposed to do for food?" Choji asked nervously.

"Just look around, the forest is full of thing to eat. It will be enough for all of you"

"Yeah, but the forest had also plenty of something else. There are man-eating beasts and poisonous plant in there", Kabuto said.

"Aaaww man"

"Well done Kabuto! Great way to break their spirits", Tsuki said with sarcasm. He looked at her and smirked.

"Quiet down. This is why is called a survival test you know" Ino said and caused Tsuki to break eye contact with him/

"That means that there is no way for half of the teams to past" Neji said.

"With the days getting longer while the nights getting shorter, we will have less time to sleep and less time to recover. Is a challenge indeed" Lee continued.

"When we will be completely surrounded by enemies, there will be no time for rest as we will have to keep a constant watch" Sasuke added.

"So let's say mid-exams can we quit," Shikamaru asked.

"Don't ask stupid question Shikamaru. In a battle, you can just say that you quit. Well, I guess you can but you will end up dead" Tsuki said.

"Oh great. This is going to be a drag"

"There are also and some other ways to be disqualified. First, is if not all the members of the team cannot make it to the tower with both scrolls in 5 days. Second, is that if a member dies or is unable to continue. Last and most important…no matter what you must not look at the contents of the scrolls unless you have reached the tower"

"What happens if someone read it?" Naruto asked.

"Let me put it simply for you young man. You. Do not. Want. To. Know. There are times when a ninja will be asked to carry out secret documents; the scroll rule is to test your integrity. Each team, take your consents form and exchange them for a scroll. After that each team, pick a gate and you will be led inside"

Tsuki lined up, took the paper and sat under the shade of a tree. To say that she was not nervous, that would be a lie. She was a lot but not because she was scared of her life. No, she was scared for her comrades' lives. She could survive in the forest with ease but the battles were the main problem. They were all new to this and yeah, even if they had some small experience that was not enough. She had only heard how tough the chunin exams were and the paper in her hands was only proving it.

Leaving out a sigh, she started to fill the form while thinking about what could possibly go wrong. Their teamwork was not perfect, they had minim to little experience when it came to fighting and where still new to whole this. However, they had each other and that was enough to calm her down as some wise words echoed in her mind and caused her to smile.

 _'_ _Remember; always have trust in your comrades and friends. No matter the situation you maybe, if you have even one friend to watch your back, you can win'_

Smiling she looked at the bright blue sky, missing that person dearly. However, the words were true. She had Naruto, Sasuke and even Sakura with her. Therefore, she had nothing to be afraid or worry about.

"Tsuki there you are!" a voice snapped her from her gazing. She looked at her right, only to see her hyperactive blond friend walking towards her.

"What's up?" she asked.

"It's time to take our scroll. Come on!" Naruto said as he helped her to stand up.

Team 7 gave their papers and took a heaven scroll. Then, they made their way towards the gate 12. After a while, they were standing in front of it and waited for the jounin, who was standing there, to unlock it.

"Listen up you maggots. The second stage of the chunin exams had begun" Anko, shouted and the lock fell on the ground with a small 'thud'.

Naruto was the first to charge in with a smile on his face while the others followed close behind him.

* * *

A few minutes had passed since the second stage of the chunin exams had begun and luckily, for Team 7, nothing had happened… yet.

 _I guess we are lucky_ Tuski thought but quickly took it back as a female scream echoed through the forest.

"That sounded like someone screaming…I do not like this place at all" Sakura said.

"This is from the few times I agree with you, pinky," Tsuki said as her ears were moving left and right with every sound they detected.

"Oh come on. It is nothing to be scared off. It's a piece of cake. Now if you excuse me, I really have to go", Naruto said, went to a near bush and unzipped his pants. Sakura disgusted by his behaviour hit him in the head.

"Get out of here. What is this a kennel? Not in front of Tsuki and me! Go find a bush or something" Sakura yelled at him and the wolf girl closed my ears.

Not wanting to be hit again, Naruto went to some bushes behind them. For a while, he was out of sight and that caused Tsuki to leave out a sigh at Sakura's stupid behaviour.

"It's not wise to split up you know" she scolded but the pink-haired kunoichi simply ignored her.

Suddenly, she heard steps coming closer and she turned 180 degrees, only to see Naruto walking towards them.

"Man, that was a lot. I wrote my whole name there" he said while rubbing the back of his head.

"You are such a pig. You are so disgusting" Sakura said but Tsuki left out a growl. She took a few steps closer, her ears stuck at her skull, her white tail raised and her teeth visible. "Relax Tsuki. It wasn't that bad"

"Hey Tsuki, what's wrong with you?" Naruto asked but the wolf girl didn't reply, instead, she continued glaring at the blond.

"Ehh Tsuki? You can calm down you know?", Sakura said but was too scared to try and touch her.

"He is not Naruto", Tsuki finally replied and grabbed a kunai, having waited enough for the other to understand her signal but of course, no one did. Or at least that's what she thought.

"Tsuki is right. Take a good look at him. What have you done to Naruto?" Sasuke demanded.

"What? What do you mean? I am Naruto"

"Then where is the cut on your cheek?" Sasuke asked and the said ninja gasped. "I guess you didn't know that the real Naruto got a scratch at his cheek before the exams begin. In addition, you have your pouch on your left leg, not your right. The real Naruto is right-handed. Your transformation skills are worse than his. So do tell me, who are you?" he demanded once again and the fake one, released the jutsu.

He was a rain ninja dressed in a tight yellow suit with a metallic breathing device on his mouth.

"Alright, you got me. So what? I am still going to take your scroll, now handed over or else", he demanded and jumped on a near tree branch. Sakura grabbed a kunai while Tsuki tightened the grip around hers."So, which one of you has it?" he asked but no one answered him. "Fine, I guess I will have to take you all out," he said and run towards Sasuke and Sakura.

Sasuke jumped in the air and quickly made hand signs. "Fire style: Phoenix flower jutsu" he yelled as many fireballs were thrown at the enemy.

He dodged them all and attacked Sasuke. Their kunai clashed together.

Tsuki's eyes twitched as she heard a noise and a familiar scent got her nose. She turned and looked up, the same time as Sasuke, only to see a tied up Naruto, hanging upside down from a brunch.

"Hey get me out" he demanded as Tsuki and Sasuke threw a kunai simultaneously, freeing him and causing him to land on his back. "Thanks" he said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Better keep your mind on the game," the enemy said and threw dozens of shuriken and kunai at Sasuke.

"Sasuke catch!" Tsuki shouted and threw him a piece of a tree trunk, which he caught at the last second and used it as a shield.

When it finished, he threw it away and he was ready to attack but the enemy was faster. He threw a kunai at him with a paper- bomb making Sasuke jump at the last second to avoid it. While he was in the air, the enemy appeared behind him and was ready to stab him. However, Tsuki had predicted his move and at the last second, she pushed Sasuke aside and let her kunai clash with his. Infusing chakra on her hands and with all the powers she could master, she pushed the ninja back and they both landed, several feet away from each other.

Tsuki landed next to Sakura while the enemy hit his back on a tree trunk before landing on his feet, on a tree branch. He threw a shuriken at Sasuke but the said genin had activated his Sharingan and easily blocked the attack with his kunai. Then, he appeared in front of him and punched him in the stomach, making him fall from the branch and land on the hard ground.

Acting quickly, Tsuki threw 4 kunai all attacked to a rope but the ninja managed to roll aside and avoid the trap-net. Glaring at the wolf girl, he threw a smoke bomb, blinding them all for a while.

"Is everyone okay?" Tsuki asked between coughs as the smoke started to clear.

"Don't you just stand there! Chances are that this person is not alone. So, watch out. The other's could strike any second" Sasuke ordered/warned.

"I wish, I came here alone so I don't raise any suspicions. Big mistake" the enemy said and everyone looked up, only to see him standing on the same tree branch as before.

He saluted the four friends before dashing off.

"Tsuki?", Sasuke asked.

"He is right. I do not hear nor smell anyone near us" the wolf girl replied.

"That proves that we can't just trust appearance. We have to come up with a way, so each of us know who we are"

"What about Tsuki? Can't she tell us when someone is fake?" Naruto asked.

"Tsuki can be a big help but if someone managed to take her out and made a copy of her"

"He is right. We cannot count on me only. We need to find another way" the wolf girl agreed.

"Alright, so what do we do?" Sakura asked.

"We need a password," Sasuke and Tsuki said together.

Both looked at each other and then looked away, a tiny and barely visible blush on their cheeks.

"What kind of password?" Naruto asked, slightly glaring at the young Uchiha.

"A secret one, something only known to the four of us. In addition, do not trust anyone who does not know it, no matter what. Listen closely because I will only say this once… The question will be: When does a ninja strike? Moreover, the answer will be: A ninja waits until the time is right when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for the ninja to strike. Got it?"

Tsuki's ears twitched as she heard movement right above them but she kept a poker face. With the tip of her eye, she looked at Sasuke who shifted his weight from one leg to the other. Then, he raised his head, eyeing each one carefully but his gaze on Tsuki held a little longer, signalizing that they both had detected the enemy above them.

"Well?" Sasuke asked.

"Memorized!" Tsuki said.

"I got it" Sakura replied and they all looked at Naruto.

"You got a little shorter one?"

"No Naruto. That's it" Sasuke said.

"Come on. Did not get it? I memorized it easily" Sakura bragged.

"Yeah... sure. I got it... I just thought it was going to be a password. Not a passpeech"

"Alright then. I will take the scroll" Sasuke said and they all looked at him before Tsuki take it from her pouch.

She tossed it and he caught it mid-air but the moment he placed it on his own pouch, a strong wind started to blow.

"What Sasuke... OW! What was that?" Naruto asked.

Everyone raised their hands in front of their faces in order to protect their eyes from the insects and the dust.

Sasuke sensed and Tsuki heard movement coming closer to them. Acting fast, Tsuki pushed Naruto as far as she could but before she could join him, someone grabbed her hand and jumped away. Blinking twice, Tsuki saw that it was Sasuke who had grabbed not only her wrist but also Sakura's and had jumped away from the ambush. They had landed on a small clearing but he had managed to ruin her plan, which was to stick with Naruto while he would stick with Sakura.

She pulled her hand back but did not say anything, instead she prayed that Naruto would be okay and nothing would happen to him until he found them or they found him first. Before anyone could say a word, the bushes a few feet in front of them started to move and everyone grabbed a kunai. Once again, no enemy appeared but their blond friend.

"What's the password?" Sakura asked and along with Sasuke, a raised their kunai.

"Okay, no problem. A ninja waits until the night is right when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard-" he said but before he could finish, two shuriken were thrown and he barely managed to avoid them.

"Tsuki, Sasuke! What are you doing? He was telling right" Sakura asked.

"That's the problem Sakura-"

Did you expect Naruto to remember all this?" Sasuke said, finishing for Tsuki.

"Are you the clever ones?" Naruto asked as he undid the transformation and in his place, the grass ninja from before was standing.

"Don't look at me. It wasn't mine idea" Tsuki said, her tone serious.

"Tell me, if your teammate is really that dimwitted, why would you come with a password he is never able to remember?" she asked.

"You see it wasn't meant for Naruto" Tsuki started.

"So much as for anybody who might happen to be nearby trying to eavesdrop on us. It was meant for a trap and you stumbled right into it", Sasuke continued.

"I'm impressed. You certainly have not dropped your guard, haven't you? This promises to be very entertaining. You would love to get your hand on the earth scroll, wouldn't you? It would go so nicely with your heaven scroll. Well, when this is all over, one of us will have both scrolls" she said and grabbed her scroll from her pouch. She held it above her head and with one move she swallowed it. "And the other one will be dead"

The trio got in fighting positions, kunai at their hands. They met her eyes but quickly realized the mistake as they were suddenly trapped in a genjutsu They saw themselves being struck by a kunai at the head and then fall back on a pool of their own blood. Tsuki was the first to understand it, she tried to move her hands to release herself and the other but she couldn't. She was paralyzed and the only thing she managed, was to drop her kunai, drawing the grass ninja attention.

"Don't try. You can't escape that easily" the grass ninja said.

 _There is always a second way to escape a genjutsu,_ she thought as she managed to turn her hands into fists. Her inhuman long nails dug into her skin and drops of blood started to escape her fresh wounds before rolling down her hand and finally paint the grass below her, red.

At the same time, Sasuke had managed to grab a kunai but his hands were shaking and his body was not listening to him.

"Now what happens?" the grass ninja asked as she took 3 kunai from her pouch. "Do not worry, I will make it quick. However, I don't have to tell you that do not I? You have seen it with your own eyes" she continued and threw the kunai.

The last second before the kunai found their target, the 3 genin jumped and landed on a thick tree branch. They were all panting heavily. Sasuke had managed to stab himself in the thigh and with the help of Tsuki, she had managed to grab Sakura pull her away. The pink-haired kunoichi was shaking from fear but when she noticed the wound at Sasuke's leg, she tried to help him only for him to reject her help. Tsuki greeted her teeth as she started to regain full control of her body but the fresh deep wounds on her palm had started to hurt her.

They were all lost to their own thoughts, still shocked by what they saw and was ready to come true. However, the sound of hissing snapped them back to the dangerous reality and they all turned, only to see a giant snake that was ready to attack them.

Tsuki quickly grabbed her teammates' hands and jumped to a higher branch just in time. The giant snake collided with the branch they were a second ago and destroyed it. Sakura and Sasuke looked at their comrade shocked but at the same time thankful but Tsuki's gaze was locked with the giant's snakes that had managed to regain its composure and hissed at them.

"Stay away from us" Sasuke suddenly while grabbing dozen of kunai and shuriken from his pouch.

He threw them at the snake, which hissed one last time before end up dead on the ground below them. They all look at it and saw its body snapping in two before the grass ninja emerged from its stomach.

 _Who is she?_ Tsuki wondered, now scared for her life but mostly for her teammates'.

"I sense your fear and desperation. It is only natural, the prey must never let down its guard. Not even for a moment in the presence of the predator," she said while the bottom of her body changed into a snake's tail.

She hissed at the trio, before she started to slither towards them. The last moment, shuriken and kunai landed in front of her, making her stop dead in her tracks. Everyone looked above them, only to see Naruto standing in an all-mighty pose.

"Looks like I came just in time," he said.

"Naruto" Sakura exclaimed along with a sigh of relief.

"Nice timing" Tsuki added, relieved that her best friend was okay but there still had to deal with the weird and powerful grass snake woman.

"Thanks and what was the password again?" he asked embarrassed while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Forget it. We know it is you. You made it" Sakura said.

"Naruto, get out of here! What were you thinking? You do not know what you are up against. Go now, while you still can!" Sasuke yelled at him, his ones brave eyes were now filled with fear.

"So Naruto, you managed to escape from my friend. Well done!" the ninja said.

"Ok, I don't know what's going on but you've been picking on my friends and I don't like that. So you better slither back to your hole snake lady before if make a pair of shoes out of you"

"You can have it," Sasuke said and grabbed the scroll from his pouch, shocking everyone.


	18. Chapter 15

"You can have it", Sasuke said and they all looked at him taking the scroll from his pouch. "The scroll right? That is what you want? Alright then, take it and leave us at peace"

Tsuki stayed frozen on her tracks and looked at Sasuke with disbelief in her eyes.

 _Is he really giving our scroll to the enemy? Is he really giving away his chance of becoming a genin? I know he does this for us, or he thinks that way but can he really be so much scared?_ She asked herself.

"Sasuke! Are you crazy or what? We are not going to hand over the scroll to the enemy! No way! What's wrong with you?!", Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs caused Tsuki to cover her ears but she knew that he was completely right.

"Shut up and stay out of it" Sasuke yelled back.

"Very wise. Sometimes the helpless pray if they are to save their own skin, realize that their only hope is to distract the predator with something more precious" she said and licked her lips.

"But sometimes this hope is fake. As the pray does not know if the predator is going to be tricked and leave it alone. In the wilderness there are no moral rules or promises that make sure that a bargain will be fair" Tsuki quickly said, only to earn a smirk from her.

"Someone from this team does have brains after all. Why I am not surprised it was you"

"Take it," Sasuke said and threw it at her. She was ready to grab it but Naruto jumped the last second and grabbed it before landing on a branch nearby. "Stop being the hero Naruto! Just stay out of this and leave it to me. I am the captain of the team" Sasuke yelled but his only reply from him was a punch in the face. He landed several trees away on another branch. "Stupid fool! You don't know what you're doing!"

"I may not know the password but I know who I am. You are the one I am not sure about. How do we know you are who you say you are?" Naruto asked.

"What do you mean? It is him. Don't be so stupid" Sakura yelled.

"Liar! You may look like him, you may sound like him but there is no way, you are the Sasuke I know! I don't know how tough of a fight you have been through, surrendering? Giving up the scroll? Since when the Sasuke I knew became a coward?"

"Sad but true. It doesn't matter as far as the scroll goes, I could simply kill you and take it", the grass ninja said and licked her fingers before raising her sleeve to reveal what seemed to be like a seal.

"Let's see you try it" Naruto yelled and attacked her.

"No! Don't Naruto!" Sakura yelled but he ignored her.

"Summoning Jutsu," she said and a giant snake emerged from nowhere.

"Naruto!" Sakura and Tuski shouted together.

"What a tasty little meal you will make for him. Careful, he likes to play with his food" she said and the tail of the snake stroke the branch Naruto was on and causing him to fall.

"Naruto" the trio shouted.

"Enough playing. Finish him off" she said and the snake went again after Naruto.

The blond kicked and punched him a dozen times in the head. However, the snake used his tongue and pushed him away. Naruto was ready to attack again but the enemy started to made hand signs in a flashing speed. Recognizing the jutsu, Tsuki quickly grabbed a kunai and threw it at her. The fireball that had just appeared on her right hand died as she caught the kunai before striking her at the face.

"Now then, let see how well you will do Sasuke", she said and made his way towards him.

"No, you will not!" Tsuki shouted as she grabbed another kunai and jumped.

She landed on top of the snake's head with so much force that made it fall on the ground. Before it could even raise its giant head, Tsuki pierced its one eye with a kunai and jumped back at the branch as the snake hissed while moving its head from right to left, trying to take off the kunai but it was stuck deep enough.

"That was impressive and my poor snake is now hurt because of you. But it will take more than that to take it down", the ninja said as the snake used its only visible eye to detect them before attacking.

Seconds before the snake touch them; Naruto jumped and stabbed its head with a kunai.

"You are not hurt, aren't you? Scary cat…Standing there, frozen like a frightened rabbit? No way! You are not the Sasuke, I know" Naruto said as he raised his head.

His eyes had changed from blue to crimson red, his claws were bigger and so his fangs too. His whiskers were more visible and a dark aura was coming from him. Before he managed to say anything else, the grass ninja used her long tongue to lift Naruto on the air.

"Hey! Oh man, gross. Put me down before I yank this tongue out of your head", Naruto said and tried to break free.

The ninja made hand signs and blue flames appeared on each of her fingers.

"Five Pronged seal" she yelled and her hand made contact with Naruto's stomach.

Naruto screamed from pain as his eyes turned from red back to blue, he then fainted. He grabbed the scroll from Naruto's pouch and he let him fall. Tsuki rushed at him and managed to catch him at the last second. She placed him gently at the ground as far as she could from the snake woman and grabbed a kunai, before standing protectively in front of him.

"Sasuke! What wrong with you? Say what you like about Naruto, that he is a pest that he gets in the way that he is just a kid but at least he is doing something. He is not a coward" Sakura yelled at Sasuke.

Tsuki looked at her with a surprised but proud expression on her face. _Wow, I have never thought that he would talk to him like that but she is right_ , she thought and looked at Sasuke who was muttering curse words.

Something in Sakura's speech snapped him back to reality.

"I knew it will happen. His Uchiha blood has come to boil. I think I will play with him and see the full extent of his power"

Sasuke grabbed a kunai and put it in his mouth before he charged against her. _I need to help him,_ Tsuki said to herself but his eyes met hers and he sent her a _"_ _stay out of this"_ look. He came at her from all the angles and threw kunai at her but she easily dodged. He went straight for her face but she blocked all of Sasuke's attacks. He flipped over her and when he landed, he went right back at her. The ninja went to attack him too and they ended up in a taijutsu battle.

Both of them were attacking and blocking each other until the ninja decided to mess with Sasuke and she slinked around the tree trunk.

She made a complete circle before she attacked Sasuke again. Fortunately, Sasuke predicted her move and blew her a fireball. He had aimed for her leg but he missed and when the fire died, she dived into a tree trunk. She came at him from below, swiping at his feet but he managed to dodge it just in time. The enemy raised her hand and punched the tree, sending the pieces towards Sasuke but he managed to move on a different tree.

He came from above her and grabbed her waist and they both dived to the ground. The grass ninja was going face right to the ground.

Tsuki bit her bottom lip as she could see the tiredness in Sasuke's eyes. This fight was getting nowhere and it was clear that the grass ninja was much higher level than they were. Her gaze went to Sakura, who was looking at the fight with fear and agony in her eyes. Grabbing Naruto bride style, the wolf girl jumped and landed on the branch, right next to her.

"Sakura, take care of Naruto, please. I need to go and help Sasuke" she said and was ready to jump but Sakura grabbed her wrist.

Surprised by her actions, she turned her head only to see the fear in her eyes that had started to water.

"Tsuki, there is no need too. Sasuke had everything under control. If you go, you will end up hurting yourself".

"Sakura looked at him," the wolf girl said and they both looked at him.

He was panting and sweat was running from his forehead. His knees were shaking and if his life was not at stake, he would have collapsed a long time ago. The wolf girl looked at her pink-haired comrade.

"Okay, but please be careful. And make sure that you both are going to survive"

"I promise," she said before jumping.

She landed a few meters away from Sasuke who had managed to defeat temporally the enemy, who was unconscious. When he saw her, he jumped away from the unconscious ninja and landed next to her.

"What you think you're doing?"

"Back up" she replied as they both locked eyes for a moment, a mental fight had started when ether she should help or no.

A sudden noise brought them back to reality and they looked at the grass ninja, who smirked at them before turning into mud and become one with the grass.

"A substitution jutsu?", Sasuke said shocked as Tsuki heard dozen of kunai being thrown at them.

"Watch out," she said as she pushed him aside while jumping away.

She managed to land a few feet away with only a few scratches but when she turned to look at Sasuke, she gasped. Sasuke had managed to avoid all the kunai but the ninja had predicted his landing spot. She went underneath him and started to deliver him kicks and punches all over his body.

Tsuki quickly threw two shuriken at her, making her let Sasuke go.

The young Uchiha landed on the hard ground with a loud 'thud' as the grass ninja took a step back to avoid the shuriken. Grabbing her last kunai, Tsuki charged at her in an attempt to give Sasuke enough time to recover.

The grass ninja blocked all her attacks with her own kunai while she managed to wound Tsuki slightly. Tsuki's eyes went behind her enemy as she saw that Sasuke was already up and ready to fight. The enemy ninja saw him too and because of that, she delivered a scratch at her cheek, drawing blood. Before the genin could react, she punched her in the stomach and sent her flying. Tsuki managed to land on all 4 while with her free hand holding her stomach. She raised her head and saw Sasuke fighting her and he was losing.

Suddenly, she grabbed Sasuke's hair and pulled him up, before kicking him in the chest. The young Uchiha flew back and rolled a few times before landing on his stomach, not moving at all.

Tsuki's blood started to boil and an animalistic growl escaped her lips. Ignoring the pain on her stomach, she charged at the grass ninja, catching her off guard. She jumped on her back and stabbed her at the shoulder before using her to eject herself towards Sasuke.

She landed next to him and quickly placed his right hand around her neck and tried to help him to stand. The grass ninja started to laugh before pulling off the kunai as if it was nothing. Then she started to walk towards the duo, a sick smirk on her face.

"What a disappointment you turned out to be. Your ancestors weep. The Uchiha should thank me for killing you", she told Sasuke Tsuki growled while glaring at her.

If glares could kill, she would be 6 feet underground already.

"You don't know anything about his clan, or him. Sasuke is giving his best every day to train and become stronger. You say these words only because that deep down inside, you are weak against him. You are jealous of him and want his power. You are nothing but a coward who kills for fun", Tsuki suddenly said, surprising the grass ninja.

"I didn't know that the Uchiha needed someone to talk for them. Now tell, me why an outsider, a girl that grew up away from humans suddenly care so much about a spoiled brat like him. Was it because of the connection you had? Was it because of Him?", the grass ninja said, making Tsuki's jaw to drop.

"H-how…"

"Yes, I have studied you. Do not worry, no one knows and no one is going to learn if you step aside and let me finish what I started. Who knows, I may help you see him again", she continued and Tsuki's eyes widen before looking at the ground, thousand thoughts passing through her mind.

 _See him again? No way, he is bluffing. No! I gave a promise! I can't! I can't leave him! He is my comrade! Wake up Tsuki! What he would say if he heard you? If he saw you right now?!_

The grass ninja who had stopped decided to take a few steps but at the very first step, Tsuki spoke.

"Don't you dare!", she said, her voice deep, surprising the ninja who decided to stay where she was. "I do not care and I do not believe what you saying! Sasuke is my friend, is my comrade! He is trying to become stronger and he will not stop until he makes his dream come true. You say that his ancestors weep but I say that they are simply jealous of him. I do not know what you want him but if you want to touch him or any of my friends, my family, you will have to pass through me first!", she said, shouting the last part and raising her head.

The grass ninja's eyes widen as she felt the sudden wave of chakra around her and as her features started to change. Her skull became thicker and longer as white furs covered her whole skin. When it was over, her head was now the one of a wolf and her hands and legs were furry with sharp and pointy clothes. Tsuki raised her head and with yellow eyes glared at her, her new form giving her more power and her words echoing in her mind, pushing her to stand her ground.

She had unlocked the first stage of her kekkei Genkai and she was ready to put it in good use.

 _I am not going to let anyone I care hurt because of me. I ran enough. This time, I stand and fight, until the end!,_ she said to her mind as she gently let Sasuke down and stood up.

"Come at me if you dare?" she said as her white ears stuck in her skull and showed her now wolf sharp teeth while her long claws were ready to tear any flesh they would touch.


	19. Chapter 16

_Don't you dare!" she said, her voice deep, surprising the ninja who decided to stay where she was. "I do not care and I do not believe what you saying! Sasuke is my friend, is my comrade! He is trying to become stronger and he will not stop until he makes his dream come true. You say that his ancestors weep but I say that they are simply jealous of him. I do not know what you want him but if you want to touch him or any of my friends, my family, you will have to pass through me first!", she said, shouting the last part and raising her head._

 _The grass ninja's eyes widen as she felt the sudden wave of chakra around her and her features started to change. Her skull grew bigger and thicker, a snout was added and her skin was replaced by white fur. The sound of bones cracking and shaping could be heard for a few seconds before it was all over. Now, Tsuki stood with her face the one of a wolf and her whole body covered in fur. Her nails big and sharp, her jaw was open and filled with sharp teeth ready to dig into flesh; her flesh._

 _She had unlocked the first stage of her kekkei Genkai and she was ready to put it in good use._

 _I am not going to let anyone I care hurt because of me. I ran enough. This time, I stand and fight, until the end!, she said to her mind as she gently let Sasuke down and stood up._

 _"Come at me if you dare?" she said as her white ears stuck in her skull and showed her now wolf sharp teeth while her long claws were ready to tear any flesh they would touch._

* * *

"With pleasure" the grass kunoichi replied as she grabbed a kunai and charged.

Tsuki did the same and the two weapons clashed with force while making sparks fly around them. The wolf girl smirked as she pushed with so much force that she caused her opponent to jump back. She landed several feet back while Tsuki landed easily, the smirk never living her face. Not wasting time, the grass ninja charged again and Tsuki managed to block just in time. She held her ground against her strength but when a kick was delivered at her side, she did not manage to block it.

Tsuki was sent flying but managed to land on all four, her kunai a few feet in front of her. Acting fast, she ran and grabbed the kunai before ducking a punch. She brought her own punch and landed it on the grass kunoichi's stomach, making her fly. She crashed into a tree but to Tsuki's surprise, she disappeared with a poof of smoke.

 _A shadow clone!_ she quickly thought and suddenly, she heard someone coming from behind her.

Turning as fast as she could, she brought her kunai and blocked the grass Nin's attack. However, her opponent had learned from the previous small fight and with a quick move, she sliced Tsuki's hand which forced our heroine to drop the kunai. A growl escaped her mouth and she jumped back while holding her now bleeding hand. It was deep but her it had already started to heal. She mentally cursed as her right hand was also her dominant and that caused her to be on a disadvantage.

However, her eyes landed on the barely conscious Sasuke and the unconscious Naruto. She had to continue fighting and she couldn't fall behind. No, she couldn't because her friends were needing her. She took a few deep breaths before charging. This time, she used her claws as a weapon. Her left hand crashed with the enemy's kunai and at the same time, she brought her injured right hand and despite the pain, she managed to slice the enemy's side.

"You mutt!" she cursed as she raised her foot and kicked Tuski at the chest. She was sent flying back while at the same time, the grass Nin had ejected herself and had managed to land on her feet. Tsuki rolled a few times before landing on her back. Her opponent was holding her right side and when she removed her hand, a 4-claw mark was visible on her skin. "Let's see you now," the woman said, a sick smirk on her face as she started making hand signs. "Wind Style: Air bullets!"

Bullets made from air, invisible to the naked eye (almost) were shot at her at high speed. However, Tsuki had one more ace up her sleeve and didn't waste time to do her own hand signs.

"Earth Style: Earth wall!" she shouted as she slammed her hands on the ground.

The earth started to shake as a giant wall emerged and successfully blocked the bullets. Tsuki left out a sigh and released the jutsu but the moment the wall sunk back to earth, her opponent had disappeared. Her ears twitched as she heard someone charging from behind her. She quickly raised her right hand and blocked a punch that was aimed for her face. She hissed from the pain as the wound was still healing.

The grass kunoichi aimed a punch for her face again but Tsuki blocked it with her left hand. She tried to kick her but Tsuki did the same and cancelled the attack.

For a good minute or two, the two were in taijutsu battle with Tsuki on the defence. However, that changed as Tsuki spotted a very small opening and managed to kick the grass Nin's already injured side.

She hissed from the pain as she was sent back but landed on her feet nether the less. Now, it was Tsuki's time to corner her opponent and so she did. Her kekkei genkai was supplying her with enough strength and stamina to hold against her more powerful and skilled opponent.

However, what she did not knew was that her opponent not only clocking her attacks but at the same time was studying her and after she earned a few strong hits, she finally found Tsuki's weakness, her speed. Yes, her kekkei genkai was raising her strength but was lowering her speed at the same time. Smirking to her and taking a deep breath, the grass kunoichi disappeared.

While trying to catch her breath, Tsuki focused on her surrounding to detect her opponent and block her attack. Suddenly, she sensed movement behind her but when she turned, no one was there. The same happened again, no one was there when she turned. A sheer pain suddenly stroke from her side and the sound of a bone-cracking echoed through the small clearing.

The grass kunoichi had managed to confuse the young genin and when she found the perfect spot, she kicked her side. Tsuki cried from the pain as she flew through two trees before landing with her right side on the hard ground. Her left hand was on her now broken ribcage while her right hand was helping her to slightly lift her body. Her form turned back to normal and she glared at her opponent, who had once again a sick smirk on her face. The grass kunoichi started to walk towards the injured white-haired genin, a kunai at her hand.

Tsuki gathered all the strength she could master and despite the pain, she started to make hand signs. Starting to become frustrated, the grass Nin grabbed Tsuki's left hand but she quickly regretted when she noticed her smirk. Lifting her whole body, she brought her hands together at the last seal.

"Lightning Style: Electromagnetic murder," she said through greeted teeth as dark clouds started to form above them.

The grass Nin tried to move but Tsuki's grip was strong. The wolf girl raised her free hand and seconds later, lighting struck. It passed through the young girl's body and attacked her opponent, causing her to fly back and land with her back on a tree. Tsuki smirked as she noticed the burning skin of her opponent. However, that smirk quickly faded as the Grass kunoichi started to laugh before dissolving into mud.

"Impressive. Very impressive" her voice echoed before appearing in front of her.

However, before she could make a move someone landed a hit on her back. It didn't do much or at least that what she thought. Her eyes suddenly widened when she noticed the paper bombs that were planted on her clothes. The voice of Sasuke echoed and seconds later, the papers started to explode. The grass Nin jumped back and tried her best to protect herself from the attack while Sasuke landed in front of Tsuki.

"Are you okay Dobe?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

Tsuki would reply but decided against it and instead, she gave a smile of relief that did not go unnoticed by the young Uchiha.

Suddenly, Sasuke jumped and threw kunai and shuriken at the grass kunoichi but what no one noticed at first, was that invisible strings were attached to them.

"Incredible! The Sharingan windmill triple attack", she said as the strings wrapped around the tree behind her, trapping and preventing her from moving a muscle.

Then Sasuke proceeded by making hand signs and when he finished, he breathed a giant fireball that was aimed for her. The Grass Kunoichi screamed from pain as the tree behind her and her body was set on fire. When the fire died down, she was breathing heavily and there were burn marks all over her body.

Sasuke was also breathing heavily and had his hands on his knees.

"Sasuke, you did it" Sakura suddenly said as she landed a few feet from the two heroes.

Naruto was unconscious at her side and she was lifting him by having his right hand around her neck. She placed him down and along with her comrades, turned her attention at the supposed now dead grass Nin.

"Impossible", Sasuke said when she appeared a few feet in front of him.

"Such mastery of the Sharingan at such a young age. You are a true Uchiha after all. Yes you will do nicely" she said but her voice had changed into a man's.

Her skin had melted and the mask had fallen from the left side of her face. Pale skin was under it with yellow snake-like eye and purple eyeliner around them.

"You are definitely his brother. If anything your eyes are even keener than Itachi's"

"Who are you? What do you want?" Sasuke yelled at him.

"My name is Orochimaru but to as to what I want, that will have to wait until we meet again. Which will not happen until you finish the test with the best scores of all" Orochimaru said and he burnt Team's 7 scroll to ashes. Sakura gasped from horror while Tsuki growled at him. "First you will have to defeat the hidden sound ninja who serve me"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, why don't you just beat it? If we never meet again it will be too soon"

"Oh he will meet me again," he said and made hand signs, which made his neck grow longer and went towards him.

He opened his mouth and dug his long fangs on Sasuke's neck, which screamed from pain before passing out.

"No!" Tsuki said through greeted teeth as she had managed to stand despite her broken bones and the burn marks on her skin.

"You! What have you done to Sasuke?" Sakura yelled as Sasuke was tossed to the side.

"I just gave him a little parting gift. However, I am not quite finished yet" he said and disappeared.

Tsuki's eyes widen when she noticed that he had aimed a kick for Sakura. Acting on instinct, she pushed the pink-haired genin aside and took the hit. Blood came from her mouth as the kick landed on her chest. She flew back and rolled a few times before landing on her stomach.

"Tsuki!" Sakura shouted, still down from the sudden push of her comrade but her eyes widen from her action.

"How I knew that would take the hit for her" Orochimaru said and chuckled as she landed a few feet behind Tsuki. The wolf girl eyes widen as she heard her walking towards her. With all her strength she started to crawl towards the fallen kunai that was not too far away from her. She spread her left hand to grab it but before she could reach it, a foot stepped on her hand. She yelled from pain as the weight crushed her fingers, definitely breaking a bone or two. "Now, where do you think you are going?" Orochimaru asked as he increased the pressure, causing our heroine l to hiss from the pain. Bringing her right hand, she dug her long nails into his skin but that caused him to chuckle. "Still fighting I see huh?"

With his left hand, he grabbed her hair and pulled her up. Tsuki bit her bottom lip at the sudden pain on her skull. Orochimaru freed her hand and held her high, a sick smile on his face. She tried to fight but her body was screaming to simply surrender.

"Let's see, a kekkei Genkai that is extinct, two chakra natures and great leverage for Him. My, my you definitely are a jackpot" Orochimaru thought as he repeated the same signs and his neck grew longer once again. Then, he dug his two fangs on the left side of Tsuki's neck while she screamed from the pain. However, a sudden pain rushed through Orochimaru's body as a voice echoed in his mind.

 ** _'Stay away'_** it said and an inhuman growl followed.

As if he had just bit a bottle full of poison, Orochimaru quickly pulled his fangs back and tossed Tsuki, to the side. While holding his still burning mouth, he looked at the barely standing on her knees Tsuki. The bite mark on her neck quickly healed and no sign of the curse mark appeared.

Suddenly, a faint figure of a woman with white hair, pale eyes and skin appeared behind her but the moment Orochimaru blinked, she had disappeared.

 _Can it be?_ he thought and was ready to attack but the pain on his mouth was telling him otherwise.

"Very soon, Sasuke will seek me out to desire my power. And Tsuki sooner or later will belong to me" he said to Sakura before sinking into a nearby tree trunk.

Sakura unfroze from the shock and the first thing she did was to run to her second unconscious teammate and crush.

"Sasuke!" she shouted as she knelt next to him. "What is it? What has he done to you?" she asked but he was not answering. "Are you...?" she tried to say the world but she couldn't.

"No. He is just unconscious. Give him some time to recover", Tsuki suddenly said as she managed to stand while using the tree trunk to steady herself.

Her injuries had all been healed but the pain from the mark and the broken bones was still there. Not to mention that a sudden and powerful head ace had started and all she could do, was to try to ignore it. She walked towards Sakura, her breath short but steady. She stopped a few feet away as she spotted Sasuke's neck. The place Orochimaru had bitten him; three black comas were forming a kind of circle.

 _What is that?_ she asked herself and wondered if she had the same.

Turning her head, she spotted the pace where she had been bitten but nothing was there. Not even a mark of the bite. _Strange, very strange._

"Naruto! Sasuke is hurt! I need you!" Sakura yelled as tears started escaping from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

Tsuki's ears fell behind and her tail lowered as she looked at her female comrade. Then, her gaze went to the Sasuke and Naruto who were badly beaten up and were unconscious.

 _Great work I did,_ Tsuki thought and mentally cursed herself for being weak.

Suddenly, crows came from nowhere and by instinct; Sakura grabbed Sasuke's body, protecting him from them. Tsuki's gaze followed them, a confused look on her face.

 _All this battle and now they flew away? No, they were not close or else they wouldn't be here. They came from somewhere else and something scared them but who or I should better say what_. However, she quickly pushed the thoughts aside as she noticed the now orange sky. The sun would set in less than an hour and they were exposed.

"Sakura… It is almost nightfall. Let's place them there and let them rest" she said and pointed at a small cave. Sakura dragged Sasuke's body while Tsuki managed to carry Naruto piggyback style.

They placed the two boys at the very back of the small cave, right next to each other. They both were panting slightly and small beads of sweat had appeared on their foreheads. Not baring to see it, Tsuki stood up and sat at the entrance of the cave. Sakura looked at her for a moment, a curious but sad look on her face.

She noticed her fallen ears and from the way she was leaning forward, it was clear that she was sad and angry. The heavy sigh that she left quickly confirmed it. Taking a deep breath, she also stood up only to sit a little behind Tsuki, her back leaning on the rock wall.

"Thank you, for saving me back there" she suddenly said.

"It was nothing. That what comrades are for. I just… I just wish I could save them" Tsuki said, her head low and her attention at the grass in front of her.

"Don't talk like that! All three of you gave your best and it was not your fault that… that freak Orochimaru was more powerful than you"

"He is a member of the Legendary Sanin… the three strongest ninja in the shinobi world"

"See! You said it yourself! Tell me a person that had fight a Sanin and would have lived to tell the story," Sakura pointed out and Tsuki slightly chuckled.

"I guess but still. We barely make it out alive and we now have no scroll in our possession"

"It… it doesn't matter. When Sasuke and Naruto wake up… we will find a way… the worst… we lose and try next time"

"I guess you are right. There is always next time. at least I hope we don't end up like Kabuto and have to try 7 times" Tsuki said and they both chuckled.

The wolf girl turned her body and leaned on the wall across from her pink-haired comrade. Who would have thought that they had to face an almost death battle to come closer?

"Tsuki," the pink-haired genin said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?"

"Who was that man, Orochimaru talked about?"

"That man… well… he is my sensei" the wolf girl replied and Sakura's eyes widen.

"Really? Then, why did he talk like that? I mean, to see him again or to be leverage?"

"Well, that's because he had left me… 5 years ago" Tsuki replied, her ears falling back and she quickly wiped a tear in hope that Sakura didn't see it but she was wrong.

"I am sorry-"

"Don't be! It's just… that I really wish I could see him. I do not know where he is if he is alive if he is okay… I wanted to search for him but then I was too young… I want to become a jounin or maybe an Anbu so I can be ready to go on my own and search for him but until then… the road seems long"

"I see… you must care a lot about him, huh?"

"Hm, yeah. I do not know why… maybe because he was from the first human's that did not run away when he first saw me or because he was caring I do not know…. All I know…. Was that when I was around him, I was feeling…. Nice. Just how you feel when you are with your parents, like that but better. He would make me laugh, be there for me and always give me advice but at the same time, he would train me and would never lose his hope even when I had a tendency to mess up with almost everything. He showed me that the shinobi word was not that bad and that was still good. That I should give humans a chance and he was the one, who made me want and become a ninja. So, I can protect and help just like he did with me" Tsuki explained with a faint smile as happy memories flashed into her mind.

"Sounds really good"

"He was. Some members of the pack would make fun of me or tease me that he was my mate but to tell you the truth, I was too young to know that"

"Mate?"Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

" ***chuckles*** Yeah mate. It is… I do not know…. It is supposed to be some kind of our "religion" as you may call it. It is said that the moment any wolf or human or any other living animal is born, immediately has a mate. It is the opposite gender and it supposed that when the two of them would be together, it would be like in fairytales. When they would be close to each other, they would feel safety, love and together they would be invincible. Able to achieve anything if they wanted it and they would never break apart, not even after death because their souls would reborn and would find each other again" Tsuki finished and looked at her comrade, only to find her asleep. She chuckled before making herself comfortable. She had to take the first watch but she did not mind. Sakura needed the rest more than she did. "Who knows Sakura, maybe one day both of us will find our mates," she said with a faint smile as she looked at the now starry sky and memories of her pack, her training and her life, in general, flashed into her mind, comforting her.


	20. Chapter 17

Sakura quickly woke up from a nightmare that scared her to death. Her heart was beating fast and sweat had appeared on her forehead. She looked out of the cave and noticed that the sun had barely risen, which made her wonder for how long she had been sleeping.

Pushing herself away from the wall, she stood up and quickly glanced around her. Naruto and Sasuke were at the same place she and Tsuki had left them but speaking of her, she was nowhere to be found. Placing a hand over her mouth to cover the sudden gasp, she rushed outside the cave and quickly looked around. Fear visible in her eyes at the thought that something happened to her while she was asleep.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" a voice came from behind and she quickly turned, only to come face to face with…

"Tsuki! Where the hell were you?! You scared the life out of me! How dare you to stand up and leave before…" she shouted but stopped when she noticed what she was holding at her hands.

On her one hand, she had a cloth filled with dozen of berries and on the other, a small cup filled with fresh water.

"Sorry," Tsuki said, her ears falling back. "I awoke early, went for breakfast and then decided to bring you too. I would have brought you meat but I know that you humans do not like it raw" she explained while looking down.

"No! Don't' be! I mean… sorry, I shouted I was just scared that something happened", Sakura quickly explained.

" ***chuckles*** Do not worry. Nothing bad happened. I simply didn't have much sleep, that's all" the wolf girl explained and handed her, the berries and the cup of water. "Here"

"T-thanks" Sakura said, shocked by Tsuki's kind actions.

"Don't mention it. That is why friends are for right? I mean, we are finally friends, aren't we?"

"You consider us friends?"

"Yeah, I mean… I know we had our rivalry and we fought quite often but we have to stick together. The boys need us and we have more chances if we finally work together, don't you agree?"

"Y-yeah" Sakura replied, a smile on her face.

Hours had passed ever since the two friends had woken up. No threat had come and they couldn't be more thankful. During those hours, the two girls had focused on taking care of their two comrades while trying their best to keep them and themselves safe. Right now, Sakura was sitting inside the cave and was replacing the wet cloth on Sasuke and Naruto's forehead. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and quickly ran out of the cave as she heard Tsuki growling.

The white-haired genin was standing outside for the last few hours, guarding the cave and checking for any enemy's.

When Sakura stopped next to her, noticed that Tsuki was growling to a squirrel that had stopped and locked eyes with the wolf girl.

Suddenly, Sakura threw a kunai that landed in front of it, scaring it away. Leaving out a sigh, she went to pick it up as Tsuki collapsed to the ground. She had been standing for a long time and they were both exhausted from the lack of sleep. The anxiety and the thought that someone would attack them at every single moment had not helped either.

Sakura sat next to Tsuki and leaned her head on the wolf girl's shoulder before closing her eyes for a sec and Tsuki did the same.

"Some lookout, you are half asleep," someone said and the two kunoichi quickly opened their eyes, only to see that the 4 sound nin that had attacked Kabuto were standing in front of them.

The male that spoke had short black hair and had bandages covering most of his face, leaving only his left eye uncovered. He also wore a large poncho with long sleeves, a snake patterned scarf around his neck and a straw raincoat protruding from the back of his scarf. The second male had spiky, black hair and dark eyes. He wore a beige shirt with two black stripes and three prints of the kanji for death down the front. His forehead protector had an attached happuri under the cloth rather than connected to the metal plate. He also wore a snake-patterned scarf around his neck.

One of the two females, had very long black hair, almost reaching down to the ground, tied by a violet ribbon right near the end, and black eyes. She wore a forehead protector, a pale green vest somewhat similar to a flak jacket, and snake patterned pants and scarf. The last female had short black hair that stopped right above her shoulder and had her eyes bandaged. She wore snake-patterned pants and black jacket, similar to the other female, and she had it unzipped, exposing the sleeveless snake patterned shirt underneath it.

Weird metallic fingerless gloves at her hand and her protector around her forehead, like the rest of her teammates.

"At least you don't have to watch them anymore, what's the point after we have already found you? Now, wake up Sasuke. We want to fight him", the boy with the spiked hair talked.

"What do you want here? I mean what you really want. I know Orochimaru is in charge from the shadows. What is the strange bruise on the back of his neck? You are behind this, aren't you? And now you want to fight him when he can't defend himself?" Sakura asked.

"What in the world could he be thinking?", the same from before, asked his teammates. "I can't stay quiet after hearing you talking about us like that. First I am going to kill the girl, then Sasuke and then I will make a new fur coat from her" he continued and pointed at Tsuki before jumping and landing on top of a big rock.

A growl escaped Tsuki's lips as she grabbed a kunai and stood protectively in front of Sakura while glaring at the sound ninja on the boulder.

"Wait Zaku" said the one with the bandages.

"Wait? Why?"

"It is so obvious. This is the colour of dirt that has recently been dug up and this grass does not grow in a place like this. You know, if you are going to lay a trap, there is no point unless you know it's actually hidden"

"Ha! You are just a joke; you threw your kunai knife so the squirrel would not spring the trap you laid. Now, we kill you" Zaku said as they all jumped in the air.

Sakura took a kunai while Tsuki tightened the grip around hers. She quickly looked at Sakura before nodding.

The pink-haired genin cut an almost invisible string and exposed the second trap. Suddenly, a giant tree log swung from the left and was aimed towards the 4 sound Nin. The two teammates smirked but that quickly faded away as the bandaged ninja managed to break It into splinters with ease.

"Clearly, you have no talent at all. Someone like you needs to put a little more effort. Don't you think?" the bandaged ninja mocked Sakura.

Every second they were coming closer to them. Tears started to form in Sakura's eyes. Tsuki took a step forward and growled at the four sound ninja that landed easily a few feet in front of them.  
However, before anyone could make a move a voice was heard.

"Leaf hurricane!" the voice said and seconds later, the 4 sound ninja were at the ground.

Tsuki blinked twice at the figure that was now standing protectively in front of them. It was none other than Rock Lee and the squirrel from before, was sitting on his shoulder. Sakura gasped for a moment but she relaxed when she saw him.

"Looks like you also, need to make more of an effort," he said.

"Who are you?" the bandaged ninja asked him.

"I am the handsome devil of the leaf village. And my name is Rock Lee"

"What? What are you doing here Lee?" Sakura asked confused.

"I will always appear, anytime and anywhere when you are in trouble Sakura. That is the same for you Tsuki" he said and Sakura looked at the ground, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"But right now on this test. I am your enemy"

"Sakura, I already told you. I will protect you until I die"

"Yes, thank you, Rock Lee," Sakura said and Lee cried anime tears of joy.

"It looks like I have no choice. Zaku, I will let you have Sasuke and the mutt over there. I will take care of this two. The guy with the bushy eyebrows is pretty good at Taijutsu" the bandaged ninja said and raised his long sleeve.

Under it was a metallic thing with holes and Tsuki's guts quickly turned, knowing that whatever that thing was, was definitely not good.

"Looks like I get to have some fun" he continued and attacked Lee.

Sakura threw a kunai at him but he jumped and avoided it. Lee stuck his hand on the ground and pulled some giants tree roots that blocked the enemy's attack.

"I am positive that there is some kind of trick in your attack. Therefore, I will not waste my time, trying to dodge it. After all, I have seen your jutsu before" Lee said and unwrapped the bandages from his hands.

The Enemy Ninja smirked and started to run towards Lee, who stood on a fighting position.

"To protect the life of someone precious, Lee said and disappeared.

He then reappeared from nowhere. With his hands on the ground, he kicked the sound Nin under the chin and threw him high in the air. Then he pressed his hand and jumped into the air too. He appeared behind the enemy and his bandages started to wrap around him.

"Oh no There is no way he can break his fall," Zaku said as the bandaged ninja and Lee were coming with incredible speed towards the ground. He then started to make hand signs.

"Take this" Lee yelled as they both started to spin like a tornado.

Zaku smashed his hands to the earth while his comrade hit the ground, causing dust to rise everywhere. Lee had jumped away from them and when the dust started to clear, everyone noticed that the sound ninja was ok. Unbelievably he was, and all thanks to his comrade's jutsu. His head and his half body buried in a small earth hill that had stopped the fall.

"Ha! Got you just in time. That impact could have been much worse for you" Zaku said.

Lee then jumped and landed a few feet away from them. The enemy started to struggle and managed to escape.

"What? This cannot be"

"That is a frightening jutsu. I was saved but it still hurt like hell"

Lee stood up but started to pant as the effects of the jutsu had started to appear.

"Now, it's my turn," he said and raised his sleeve, exposing his gadget one more time.

He attacked Lee who jumped back to avoid his hit. He then started to yell from pain. At the same time, Tsuki dropped her kunai and fall on her knees while covering her wolf ears.

"Your jutsu is indeed fast, but ours is even faster because it travels at the speed of sound", he said and Lee felt to the ground. "Effort by itself does nothing. Now watch, we are going to show you something called the wall"

The pain stopped and Tsuki raised her head, only to see Lee on his knees and puking.

"Lee! What's wrong?" Sakura asked frightened as his ears started to bleed.

"I forgot to mention this little gadget I wear. You might be able to dodge my blows but you cannot get away from it. I do not need to strike you with my fist when I can hit you with the power of sound. What makes it possible for the ear to hear things? What is sound really?"

"Vibrations," Sakura said. He then started to explain about how the vibrations affect the human drum.

"You see buddy. That old-fashioned taijutsu will not work on us, not that you are not good at it. It is just that compared to our jutsu, that stuff is useless. See, I can manipulate ultrasonic waves and air pressure. I can do the thing you have never even dreamed. I can obliterate boulder or make the ground as soft as a feathered cousin. Face it, little man. You are up against the jutsu of the future"

Small holes were in them and they started to blow wind, causing Sakura to gasp. At the same time, the female with the short hair raised her hand and exposed her metallic gloves. Holes were covering them but she didn't show what could do with them. Then Zaku started to laugh like a maniac but the girl's attention were at the panting Lee who was trying his best to stand.

"Now then little girl, It's your turn", the leader said and started to run towards Sakura, who raised her kunai. Tsuki quickly stood in front of her, kunai at hand and ready to take once again the blow.

"Leaf hurricane" Lee yelled and landed in front of them. Without wasting time, he raised his foot and tried to sidekick the ninja but he easily grabbed his leg.

"Hm, not quite effective as it was before, is it? Still is impressive that you can move at all. We will have to do something about that" the ninja said as he went to strike Lee with his metallic gadget.

Lee blocked the attack. His gadget started to blow air and seconds later, both Lee and Tsuki were at the ground, holding their ears.

"Do you hear that? This device amplifies the vibrations of the impact, transforming them into a wave of sound"

"Lee no," Sakura said while kneeling next to her comrade that was trying her best, not to scream from the pain.

"A sound wave I can channel with my chakra. Focusing all its energy on the target I desire" he said and made Lee yell from pain.

"Stop it" Sakura yelled.

The sound finally stopped Lee collapsed at the ground. Tsuki removed her hands from her wolf ears but her eyes widen when she noticed that Lee didn't move.

"Alright, little man. Time to end it"

"That's what you think," Sakura said and threw him some kunai but he easily deflected them with his gadget.

"I almost forgot you"

"Get this" Sakura yelled and threw him shuriken.

Zaku stood between the ninja and the shuriken before blowing wind that made them return. They were going to hit Sakura, who had closed her eyes to protect them from the wind and the dust. Tsuki quickly grabbed her kunai from the ground and threw it, blocking the attack and protecting Sakura at the same time. Then one of the two women of the group grabbed Sakura by the hair before anyone could blink.

"My, my. What soft and shiny hair. However, you know what? If you spent less time shampooing and a little more time practising your jutsu, you might not be in this situation. Hey Zaku, I know what would be fun. Let's make that beauty queen watch while you finish off that Sasuke guy"

"Why not? Sounds like fun to me"

"Don't you even think about it" Tsuki shouted as she threw shuriken at Zaku, who ducked and managed to avoid it the last second.

"That's right. We forgot about you. I have an idea. Before we finish off that Sasuke, let's play a little with this mutt" he said and smirked.

"Watch carefully beauty queen. Soon enough you will see your friend suffering", the female that was holding Sakura from the hair, told her and smirked.

Tsuki quickly changed to the first stage of her kekkei Genkai, surprising her opponents. Grabbing the chance, she charged at the sound ninja closer to her, Zaku. The said ninja quickly shot air and Tsuki managed to avoid it at the last second. He did it repeatedly, each time Tsuki being barely able to avoid it.

Finally, she had covered the distance and punched Zaku on the stomach. He flew back before the second female of the team, catch him and save him from a hard and painful fall on the ground. Tsuki was ready to charge again but she suddenly fell on her knees and yells of pain escaped her lips as she covered her wolf ears.

"Think I didn't notice how you were affected by my jutsu before?", the bandaged ninja said and Zaku smirked before attacking once again.

This time, his wind jutsu hit and sent her flying. She crashed on several trees before landing with her back on a big rock. She quickly turned back to her human form as the air was knocked from her lungs. While trying to catch her breath, she did not notice that Zaku had charged at her once again.

"And to think that is the girl that gave Lord Orochimaru a hard time" the second female mocked but to her surprise, Tsuki jumped out of the way and Zaku collided with the rock.

"You mutt!" he shouted as he grabbed his injured nose.

Tsuki smirked and decided to attack while he was occupied but Zaku grabbed a flash ball from his pouch and threw it at the ground. A shocking bright light caused Tsuki to stop and cover her eyes. When it died, Zaku had disappeared and black dots had clouded the wolf girl's vision.

"Tsuki watch out!" Sakura shouted as the second female appeared behind Tsuki and delivered a kick at her back.

The white-haired genin was thrown forward and landed with her face first. Shaking her head, she spits some grass and dirt from her mouth, before her eyes locking with Sakura's.

 _She is scared, just like on our fight with Orochimaru. That fight… I failed to protect them then but not now!,_ she thought and quickly rolled to the side as Zaku's feet came in touch with the ground. Quickly standing on her knees, she started to make hand signs but before she could finish it, the bandaged ninja had attacked he once again with a sound attack and caused her to stop and grab her ears.

"I've had enough with you!" Zaku shouted as he appeared behind Tsuki and used his wind jutsu.

The strong wind pushed Tsuki forwards and right to the second female who cracked her knuckles before punching her on the cheek. The wolf girl rolled a few times before landing on her stomach. She managed to raise her head, only to see the female that had punched her, standing in front of her. Acting fast, Tsuki grabbed a shuriken and pinned it on the girl's left leg, causing her to hiss from the pain but she quickly smirked as she pulled off the kunai and brought her leg back.

"That is for lord Orochimaru!" she said before kicking Tsuki under the chin, making her fly back and roll like a ball a few times before landing on her stomach once again.

Glaring at the female sound Nin, she tried to stand but someone stepped on her spine and caused her to yell from the pain.

"And where I thought you would be a challenge. Perhaps your pink-haired friend over there is" Zaku, who was the one stepping on her, said with a smirk.

"No! Please no!", Tsuki suddenly begged, drawing everyone's attention. "It is me you want, am I right? Sasuke is unconscious but Orochimaru wants me more, right? Do whatever you want to me but please, let Sakura go"

The pink-haired genin looked at her with wide eyes. Once again, she was putting her life on the line for her. She was in no place to fight or say anything ad yet again, she begged their attackers to spare her by giving herself to them.

"How touching. What do you say guys?" the female that was holding Sakura said before start laughing.

"How pathetic and where I thought that the leaf ninja had some dignity, I guess I was wrong", the second female said.

"From what it looks like" Zaku, said before kicking Tsuki's head, making her face plant the hard ground.

Then, he grabbed a rope from and started tying her, the wolf girl barely tried her best to struggle but that only earned her a punch or kick from him. Finally, after she was tied up, Zaku grabbed and tossed her to the side before cleaning his hands. Tsuki tried to move but the second female of the group placed her foot on her head and kept her down.

"One down, one to go", he said and looked at the unconscious Sasuke.

Sakura started to struggle but the female sound Nin simply tightened her grip on her hair and laughed at her actions.

 _It is of no use. I have no strength left. Way to go Sakura. You let them down. Even now, when the other needs me, I cannot give up. How many times had they saved my neck? You think that maybe, just this once. When it is life or death. You think that just maybe I can make it through,_ she said to herself as tears started to roll down her cheek.

"Okay. Let's do this" Zaku said with a smirk and made his way towards the cave where Sasuke and Naruto were but Sakura grabbed a kunai. _I know what I have to do._

"Come on" the female ninja mocked her. "It's pointless. That won't work on me" she continued as Sakura turned to look at her.

"It's not meant for you," She said with a smirk.

"What the-" she tried to say but Sakura was faster and caught her hair. She felt back as Sakura landed on her knees while pink strands were falling around her.

 _I always considered myself a true ninja. I claim that I am madly in love with Sasuke and I am always lecturing Naruto. Acting like I know so much more. I am jealous of Tsuki for having all the boys behind her without even trying and she is always stronger than I am._ _However, it is all empty words, because they are always in the lead and I watch them from the background._ _Why is that? No matter what, they were always there... Those three protecting me._ _And Lee, you did more than just saying you like me. You proved it. We are not even teammates and you put your life on the line for me._

 _All this time, you all have been teaching me something. It is about time, I learn the lesson._ _Okay! No more crying. Now it is my turn to take the lead. And, all of you will watch me from the background,_ Sakura said to herself looked at her enemies _. I am not afraid anymore. I am ready to take them down even I die. This time, I will be the one protecting you._

"Sakura be careful" Lee managed to say before he fainted.


End file.
